Major
by Sapphire Sai
Summary: BEN is here, and it looks like he won't be leaving any time soon. He likes his new puppet... The question is, will this puppet stay alive long enough, or will BEN get real bored, real soon?
1. Waking Up

_AN: New story~ Guess who's come out to play this time? This might be a story with long chapters, but with less of them, so hopefully I can get these out faster. Hope you enjoy!_

_Cover picture is by De-Haro on Deviantart :}_

* * *

I woke up in cold sweat, my legs tangled in the sheets. Alongside my pounding heart was my pounding head and when I sat up, I almost got knocked back from the sheer pain and dizziness.

What the Hell happened… what was I dreaming of? It felt like a night terror, so vivid and real, yet I can't remember it at all.

I waited until my hands stopped shaking, until my head stopped stabbing itself, and I could somewhat calm my heart down. Wiping my forehead with the back of my hand, I hopped out of bed and threw my curtains open. It was, what, 3 in the morning? Either way, the full moon shone itself down through my window above the tree tops, throwing an eerie blue glow that helped me calm down, somehow. Okay, the world didn't end, nobody was dead, everything was okay. I waited for a car to pass down the street and then I turned to look at my desktop.

Nothing moved. Nothing changed when I was sleeping. Good. Good, good, good. Okay. I opened my closet and rummaged around in the dark and grabbed a hold of my lucky baseball bat that my dad gave me before he mysteriously disappeared on my 10th birthday.

The power was out, I don't know why. I paid my electrical bill last week. Oh shit, stupid me, obviously I know why. That dream must have tried to reset my mind or something, I could just barely recognize my own room.

I opened the door slowly and made my way down the dark hallway that always unnerved me. I hate long hallways. I hated a lot of things, actually. Can't blame myself, I was _born_ with ADHD and paranoia, basically. I reached the doorway connecting the hallway to the living room and paused. It was pitch black, and I couldn't see anything besides the faint outlines of the furniture.

I sighed, a deep long sigh and leaned on the doorway. Okay. Just jittery nerves, as usual. I really have got to stop surfing the Internet before bed. He doesn't exist, it's not like he exists. He doesn't. He doesn't exist.

See, I was really into the tech stuff, putting computers together from the tower to the motherboard to the cooling fan, coding for files, and creating and hacking into software. I could find everything from the corners of the Internet at ease. I was screwed up in the head, and I had a lot of issues, but there was no denying I had a knack for something.

I pondered a little bit on how I came across this guy from a chatting site. The meeting was ordinary, I was toggling tabs and multitasking as I usually do when I'm on the Internet, and he said hello. "Hello". That's it. I answered back.

And ever since then, everything around me kinda went haywire. It was bad enough that I was a jumpy and jittery person, but everything in my house, and around me, actually, went bonkers! I like to think that me and tech have a mutual respect for each other. Like that kid that sits next to you in class that you don't know much, but you still talk to 'em anyways because you don't know anyone else in the damn room and the teacher loves to torture kids with no friends by making them do group work. Eventually, you become what I like to call "school friends", and never take that mutual bond any further, because God forbid you guys end up in each other's houses.

Anyways, I'm rambling here. What I'm trying to say is, I like the Internet, the cameras, the consoles, the technology and they all seem to nod at me in approval. Lately, however, everything I touch turns to _shit_. I get the Blue Screen of Death every once in a while no matter how much I tinker with my computer, my microwave starts acting up and overheating my food or not heating at all, and even my phone shuts off and closes apps without warning. I take these to an expert in a store somewhere and the crazy thing is, they turn out to be absolutely fine. Nothing wrong, got good storage, good cooling system, no viruses or Trojans or anything like that. Nothing wrong with the electrical configurations in the microwave, no battery damage to my phone. And when I drag them back home, stuff starts happening again.

I straighten up and turn to go to my bedroom again...

I don't get it, I'm confused. This has never happened to me. The only times that my stupid computer let me on I start scouring my files, my hard drive, all the contents on my once-trusty computer and find nothing wrong. The chat that I talked to the guy on kept popping up every time, though. They never fail to almost scare me to death. I keep thinking maybe it's that dumb website that has my computer acting up, but it's impossible because I've got a mighty anti-virus program I've customized myself. I have anti-hacking software, nothing can penetrate through the borders my little piece of the Internet has around it.

This guy always ends up chatting with me no matter what. I could be rubbing my chin, perplexed about the sheer_ normalcy_ of the contents of my reliable machine and he picks the best time to say hello. His timing is so impeccable it's almost supernatural.

I wonder...

I sat on my bed facing away from my window, but staring at my little setup in the corner of the room. The bat leaned casually on my bed frame and assured me that it wasn't going anywhere. Alright, I'd give it a try. I haven't told this guy about my tech problems yet, because he was just another faceless puppet across the vast planes of the World Wide Web, but maybe he could help me out. He was reasonable, as far as I could tell. His messages were always kinda cryptic, but he was always blunt about things and typed like an intelligent human being. He seemed kinda sketchy and I've read plenty of CreepyPasta around forums and sites that could fit him, but they're stupid campfire stories people make up using their crazy imagination. None of it is true. At all. I hope.

I got up, plunked down in my chair, and booted up the PC. The usual starting process went around, no problems. Okay. So far so good.

The login screen popped up, nearly blinding me. I forgot it was the wee hours of the morning and the sun hasn't even started to burn the Earth yet. I was used to the dark and working at night, sometimes I forget I have night vision on. I typed in my password, logged in, and sat and stared at my screensaver for a few minutes. All the files and shortcuts were in the order I placed them, my task bar had the appropriate icons sorted in the convenient way I always remembered. Alright. Okay. I exhaled and ran my fingers through my hair. I don't know why I felt nervous right then, but I did. I sat and waited. I know he'll pop up sometime, even though the birds aren't even awake, I trust that he knows when I'm on my computer.

Something flickered for a fraction of a second across the screen. If I had blinked or yawned I would have missed it. All I saw was red dots that look like eyes. What the Hell is...

And then, on the corner of my screen the little chatting box popped open and the notification ding jingled cheerfully like _"I'm here, here I am, presenting to you this guy! Have fun!~" _

I grimaced and looked at the message inside the box.

** Maj. Mask: Can't sleep?**

Yeah, there he is. I don't know if he added me to his "friend list", but I don't think you should be able to tell if a buddy is on unless they're logged on to the actual site. He must be a true hacker and an even better stalker.

I followed up the conversation:

**gravecalibrator: i didn't even know you were on, and i don't know how you know i'm on either. care to stop trying to freak me out?**

** Maj. Mask: A magician never reveals his secrets.**

**gravecalibrator: that why you hide behind a "mask" mr. major?**

** Maj. Mask: Perhaps.**

**gravecalibrator: alright, enough bullshit. what are you, some super fancy techie geek with no life? how do you know when i'm on at a constant basis?**

** Maj. Mask: Coincidence. I always thought you were the one with no life, always on when I am. **

**gravecalibrator: i'll let that insult slide. i have a question to ask.**

** Maj. Mask: No promises.**

**gravecalibrator: don't be a smartass, i need advice. or help, whichever. **

** Maj. Mask: Just give her sweets, look into her eyes, throw some compliments around, and don't forget to be yourself. You'll be fine.**

**gravecalibrator: what? jesus, no! can i have a serious conversation here!?**

**gravecalibrator: i'm having... tech issues and you seem like a smart guy.**

** Maj. Mask: Go on.**

**gravecalibrator: has anything around you gone haywire overnight? my computer was fine one day, my phone was fine one day, and hell, even my microwave worked fine. now i can't even heat up a pizza roll.**

** Maj. Mask: Can't say I have.**

**gravecalibrator: okay? so?**

** Maj. Mask: Your computer seems to be working fine, isn't it? You wouldn't be chatting otherwise.**

**gravecalibrator: yeah NOW it's working. **

** Maj. Mask: No advice.**

**gravecalibrator: seriously. that's it? **

**gravecalibrator: no pat on the shoulder, no "sorry bud", not a SLIVER of help you could offer me?**

** Maj. Mask: Are things that bad?**

**gravecalibrator: :(**

** Maj. Mask: I don't know how much you trust me, but maybe this little plugin could ease your woes.**

** Maj. Mask: ** /sKh=dja14dhs%jd0_ /download

I blinked and stared at the link he posted, scanning the text for any stupid screamer jpg. or a pointless virus. The link format was unfamiliar, maybe it was a private and coded plugin he or a friend created. Still...

**gravecalibrator: what the hell is that?**

** Maj. Mask: Custom computer cleaner, courtesy of the One and Only.**

**gravecalibrator: haha, you are so full of shit. no wonder you chat with me most of the time, i'm sure no one else but me has the patience for you.**

He didn't type anything back, so I apologized.

**gravecalibrator: okay, okay. sorry, that was mean. it's like four in the morning here and i'm super paranoid about everything right now, especially with weird things going on lately.**

** Maj. Mask: Do it. All your troubles will be over.**

Well that was... a weird thing to say. I didn't like this guy that much. I don't know what the Hell he has up his sleeve for me, but I thought "Hey, what's the worst that can happen?" My computer was already bonkers, if worst comes to worst, I'll just get a new computer.

I clicked the link.


	2. BEN Makes a Proposal

After I clicked the link, my computer restarted itself immediately. No warning, nothing. Oh geez, what the Hell have I done? I hope Major Mask didn't make me fuck up big time, otherwise he'll earn a book's worth of textually scathing messages from me. I waited, leaning back on my computer chair and hearing it squeak. I glanced at the window, the moon still pretty visible from my angle. The sun isn't supposed to rise in a long while from now, judging by the quietness of my street and the clouds in the night sky. I don't know how my lights went out today, but everything else in my house is working fine. The T.V., the refrigerator, the computer. I checked the lightbulbs earlier and they were fine, not burned out.

I sighed and rubbed my stomach. I didn't know what time it was, but I guess starting my day now isn't going to hurt much. Luckily, I have a job that requires nightly hours so I don't have to shield my eyes from the sun and drag my feet along the pavement on my way there. It's a modest job at a book store nearby that I enjoy. Nothing too big. I fix neighbor's computers for a fee, so I earn extra money on the side.

I got up after the starting screen faded in once more and headed down the hallway without my baseball bat. I had a spare flashlight in a cabinet in the kitchen and as I fixed my 5-star meal of a turkey sandwich with coffee and a slice of pound cake on the side, I wondered about the link Major sent me. If I trusted him for nothing, I'm just going to have to cut down on food for next week to save up for some parts I need. At least I don't need to scrap _everything_, I've had my tower and keyboard for a few years now.

Carrying everything back to my room, I could see the blue glow of my computer screen spilling out into the hallway through the crack in my door. Good, that means I can get to exploring that thing he sent me while I eat, and then maybe I'll catch a few more hours of sleep that I missed while the sun is rising.

I pushed the door open and almost dropped my plate and mug.

S-someone... was... crawling out of the monitor on my screen, Samara-style! My room was dark, the only source of light coming from the edges of the screen not blocked by the boy's body. He pulled himself out, balancing himself on my chair so he wouldn't fall on his face.

I gaped at him like an idiot, not moving an inch like as if my feet were nailed to the ground, the darkness obscuring his face thanks to the lack of light.

_Jesus fuck, holy Hell._

He dropped onto the floor and I finally forced my feet to move, move, _move_, _MOVE_!

I whirled around, hurried down the hall and slammed my breakfast onto the coffee table next to my living room couch. Thinking quickly, I realized that I left my cell phone in the room, along with my baseball bat, and I had only a T-shirt and some boxers on. Wow, holy shit, was I prepared to fight off intruders today!

Okay, okay, no panicking. Actually, what the Hell! Of course I have to panic, a _goddamn demon boy just crawled out of my computer screen_! I ran to the kitchen just as I heard the floorboards squeak in the hallway and almost collided with my fridge as I frantically pulled open one of the kitchen drawers and fumbled around in the dark for a strong knife to defend myself with.

Which one, which one?! Come on, I'm gonna die here! Glancing back every two seconds, I finally fished out a giant steel knife with a serrated edge and slammed the drawer shut. Oh God, please let this not be the last day of my life!

I creeped out to the doorway that connected the dark living room to the kitchen, and I peered out slowly, expecting to meet nose-to-nose with the guy.

Nothing.

I could see the hallway from here and my bedroom door was wide open, illuminating the hallway with blue light. Okay, my computer is still on. It was eerily silent, as if no one had even shown up at all. My adrenaline still had my heart pumping like mad and I wasn't ready to let my guard down. Hopefully the dead lights can cover me and my "night-vision" won't fail me right now.

What the Hell was that thing?! I wasn't hallucinating, I _know_ what I saw. Sweating a little bit, I tiptoed into the living room and made sure not to trip over any furniture. I backed up against the wall next to the hallway and peeked over the corner. No one.

I cursed under my breath and gripped the knife as I made like a cat all the way down the hallway to my room.

Heart beating like mad, I painstakingly craned my head to see into the room and not be spotted, positioning myself so I was ready to hurl my knife at anyone who decided to pop up unexpectedly. My ears were fine-tuned to pick up any tiny little noise and my ADHD and paranoia were absolutely _raging_.

I must have looked like a squirrel at a dog park, twitching and sneaking like this.

I saw my bed, my nightstand, the drawers, half of the window...

I leaned forward a little more, catching sight of the corner of my desktop...

Where is he, the bastard...?

I held my breath, scooting closer to the doorway, and-

"Oof!" I grunted, falling forward on my hands, my nose almost missing the edge of the door frame. Someone kicked my back! Scrambling to my feet, I brandished my knife and turned around.

Oh... shit. I stared wide-eyed at him.

"Took you long enough to get back here, you idiot." He snarled at me. The door shut behind him.

* * *

"Holy... what the-!"

I only managed to get those words out of my mouth before he snapped his fingers and the lights in my room flickered alive. I raised my knife at him, pointlessly, because this... _thing_ wouldn't have even batted an eye at me even if I had the balls to swing at him. It wasn't human, it was a demon, or a ghost, or _I don't know what_, but he was something. He looked like a corrupt, demonic version of Link from LoZ, except he sported big, black jeans with golden rings around the legs, was barefooted, and had no eyes. He squinted those nonexistent eyes at me with a toothy grin and stepped forward.

"So, hey. Looks like you fell for my trap and let me out. Thanks," he chuckled darkly, "now I can terrorize you until I kill you."

The words barely registered in my mind, because I couldn't hear him over the ridiculously thunderous beating of my heart. It was going to explode out of my chest, I was going to faint, the world was going to explode, I don't know! This _couldn't_ be happening. It wasn't real! Maybe this is a horrible nightmare that I am having and hopefully, I'll wake up soon in my bed, all nice and cozy and maybe sweating a little bit, but okay. No ghost boy crawled out of my computer monitor, no nightmare happened that caused me to wake up, none of this happened and...

"Oh come on, you can't really be this pathetic, can you?" I heard him once again. I realized that my eyes were shut and the knife wasn't in my hand anymore. I was still sitting on my carpeted bedroom floor and he was hovering above me this time, scowling down unamused. "You set me free out of that horrible computer to rock back and forth and pray to your nonexistent God? _Very_ charming." I peered up at him, my mind totally blank, but my mouth ready to fire out something in response.

"Horrible? Christ, if it's so horrible, why did you need me to download you into it for you to come through, Mr. Major?" I was surprised at my calmness despite me quivering down here like a fucking rabid squirrel. He smirked at me, burning holes into my face with tiny pinpricks of red he had inside his eyes that I hadn't noticed before. "Oh, you're calm now? Funny, I could feel you freaking out on your keyboard through the monitor a little earlier. I've got to admit, I'm glad your fear isn't making you stupid, as well. You can actually draw connections!" His voice was almost monotonous, tinged with a bit of arrogance and sarcasm and disgust that he was even _in_ the same room with me. I detected some element of "glitchiness" in his speech, like as if he was a computer program talking, his voice cutting abruptly and even lagging on some words. That was no problem for him, though. He conveyed whatever the Hell he wanted to say crystal clear.

I slowly got up, meeting eye to eye with the entity floating in my room, shooting daggers at me with his eyes. Or whatever they would be called. I returned the look back, steeling myself in case anything crazy happened. "I don't know what the fuck you are, but you'd better start explaining yourself right now or..."

"Or what? You'll call the cops? Tell a friend? Who'd believe you, anyways? No one, that's right!" He laughed spine-chillingly and I mentally retreated myself into a shell. He was way too full of himself and comfortable about his current situation, and he wasn't going to hide that. "I'll let you in on a little secret, though." He motioned for me to come closer and I noticed he had blood on his scarred hands. Like Hell I was going anywhere near that! He scowled once again and crossed his arms over his chest. "Fine, be that way! I was going to go into detail about how funny it was watching you get frustrated or freak out whenever some appliance or technology went crazy thanks to me, just to mess with your head a little bit, buuuut..." He paused for dramatic effect and arched an eyebrow at me when he glanced over at me. "I think I'll hold back on that. How're you doing this fine evening?" He was getting cockier each minute, demonstrated by his monstrous grin. "You don't seem like you're too bothered about any of this."

I realized I had no expression on my face, just a furrowed brow. I didn't know what to think of any of this. He wasn't hurting me, so I didn't have to defend myself right away, but he wasn't human, either and probably wanted to paint the walls in my blood right now. Besides, I already analyzed his character over the web when we chatted. He was a little... different in "person", but not by a long shot. I knew him, I think. I think I can do something about this.

"Uhm, well. I'm sure there's something else you're looking for out of me besides just me dying. That'd be a little... well, useless to get rid of me right away after you went through all the trouble to actually appear here in my room." I stuttered.

I prayed he got my message and would comply.

"Ah, you're right! Except you forgot the part where I never implied I would kill you right away." He shot bullets out of his mouth, each coated in a layer of sarcasm that I basically caught with my face. "You see, I'm not doing this for shits and giggles. I actually _do _want something out of you before I can get to drown you, but it'll be a while before then. I want you- scratch that- I _need _you to build something for me right now, and I know you're the man to do it. I've been hunting down smart-asses around the Internet for a while and found you to be the particular one I think I can live with for a while."

"_Live_ with?"

He floated closer to me, so close that our noses were practically touching and I could smell the water in his clothes. "Not literally, you idiot. I can tolerate you, but just barely. If you're going to play dumb like you are right now, I might not let you live long enough." He threatened me and punctuated each emphasis with a jab of his sharp finger on my chest. "So are you in or are you dead?"

I smiled involuntarily. "Okay, BEN. Just tell me what to do."


	3. Blueprints

"So, how many lies have the Internet spoken about me, hmm?"

I studied the blueprints BEN laid out on my bed, now a makeshift table, and rubbed my forehead. The sets of thick paper portrayed complex hand-drawn building procedures and a monstrous generator-like thing with tubes stared me in the face. Wow, this was… amazing, to say the least. I don't even think I can /imagine/ where I'm going to get parts to build this thing, let alone actually putting it together.

The sun shone through the open window and my computer clock read noon. BEN promised to let me sleep for the rest of the morning and I don't know how I managed, but I caught 3 more hours until I was finally sick of tossing and turning. He, in the meantime, was busy digging through his little void of cyberspace to find these bad boys. I looked up at him and arched an eyebrow, scratching the back of my head. I knew he was older than he looks, but I didn't know he was really _this_ smart.

"Sorry, what?" I asked.

"How much do you know about me?" He replied impatiently, hovering above my bed on his stomach, chin buried in his dirtied hands. I shrugged and tapped on the blueprints in thought. "Depends how much of what I read is true."

We sat in silence for a little while before I inhaled and leaned back on my chair, rubbing my face with both hands. "Okay. How in _Hell _am I going to start doing this? Where am I getting the parts? Area 51?" I lowered my hands and looked at BEN. He was peering down at his own work, contemplating how he was going to answer. I'm not even sure he knows how to start himself, but he had that determined look in his eye.

I tried to fill in the silence. "All of this stuff is way ahead of anyone's time, to be honest. It's straight outta some science fiction flick! I don't really think anyone in the world knows what a triple bicord pr-"

"You find the parts all over the city." He interrupted.

"What?"

"You heard me. You find the parts all over the city. And then some others in…" He trailed off, rearranging himself so he sat in a lotus pose. "Nevermind, I'll track them down and tell you where to find the parts we need, it's just up to you to fetch them and put them together and make them _work._" He eyed me sternly, meaning nothing but business. I threw my hands up and leaned forward, scanning for the first step.

"Okay, fine. Have it your way. Whatever gets me to live longer." I rolled my eyes. Pointing to the first step which illustrated some weird squid-like component, he pulled out a cell phone-like device out of his pocket and clicked it on so that a holograph appeared and before I knew it, a 3D image of the same thing on the paper was rotating before my eyes. I did a double take.

"Holy Hell, man!" I exclaimed. "You're… like, packed with futuristic gadgets, huh?"

BEN shrugged and pointed to a few parts of the holograph, bringing up information on separate floating windows and handing them to me. "Read." He instructed.

I did. There were a ton of new words about the thing, but I managed to rack my brain enough to find out that the squid-like thing was indeed called a Triple Bicord Pro-Cell, with the attached tentacle-like tubes being what was going to hold the center of this thing. It was like… the heart of the machine.

"This relatively small device is _the. Most. Important. Part_ of the building process. Remember that. If we don't have this, and if we don't have this first, we're pretty much doomed. Well, you are, at least." He warned.

"What does it do? Power the machine?"

He thought about the question, pulling the windows back and shutting off the hologram. "Well… sure. Think about it that way."

"What I want to know, ultimately, is what does this thing do? Why are you so desperate for this that you're going out of your way to actually talk to me and force me to build this? Why can't you build this yourself?" BEN scowled at me and pulled his hat over his ears, embarrassed. "Look, I don't want to talk much about _why_ I want you to build this, but this thing is crucial in order for me to stay here on Earth. I'm usually weak, or I can't stray too far from wifi or a water source otherwise I'll pretty much disappear back into wherever I go. I want to be able to travel the land and be powerful."

That didn't sound good to me. "Why do you want to stay here on Earth? I heard cyberspace was much cooler. And less miserable."

He shook his head so hard that his bangs flew around his face and snorted. "No, no, no. You don't understand! It's absolutely _miserable_ and terrible, and lonely, and… cold. I don't like being cold. Besides, most of my friends are up here roaming around, and it's not like I can't go back into a computer after this. This machine is gonna help me control everything, and ensure I can access anything anytime. Why are you being so stupid and asking me all of this?"

"Oh, hey, woah. Relax, pal! I'm just a stupid human here, nothing more."

BEN glared at me again and folded his arms across his chest. "So are you going to get going on this or not?"

"Well, I am, but I need a few days to get this process in my mind. I need to analyze the steps, and maybe build a model of it on my computer if I can…" Seeing the look on his face got me a little nervous. "I'm not stalling, I promise! You can't just spring all of this stuff on me at once and expect me to take this all in stride."

He thought about it for a minute and glanced at me.

"Okay. You _are_ pretty much keeping your cool about all of this and not being an idiot. Sure, I'm feeling generous. By the end of the day 4 days from now I want to see a model in your computer and see you ready. Understand?"

"Absolutely."

"Good. Do you have a basement?"

"Uh. No?"

"We're gonna need one."

I thought for a minute, figuring that he wanted a basement for me to build the damn thing... and then a light bulb flashed in my head.

"Hey, will a certain… uhm… _abandoned house_ do fine?" I grinned at BEN, watching his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "There's one in the outskirts of the city, the only thing we have to watch out for are rats and some crazy ass old man who sometimes goes in to smoke pot or something." I always wanted to go inside the house, ever since my ex-girlfriend showed me the place on a date. I've always had a... little something... for abandoned places.

He read the excitement on my face and rolled his eyes. "No need to wet yourself in excitement. You'll show me the place and _I'll_ decide."

I flashed him a grin and a thumbs up and he flew out of my room and out of my life for the next few hours.


	4. Old Smokey

We managed to get ready and leave two days later. I don't know what BEN was doing ever since he left my room after my suggestion but he must have been mighty busy, or concerned about something he needed to take care of, because when he came back from… wherever he comes from, his face was taut with worry and he rushed me to get outside. I asked him what took so long, he just snapped at me and I hurriedly tied my shoes.

To be honest, I'm actually glad he took so long. I was wondering where he was, but at the same time, I liked the short-lived peace. At least my electronics are working fine now.

I slipped into my favorite hoodie since the night was brisk, and I stepped out the door. BEN was inhabiting my cellphone for the moment, making little chimes whenever he need to say something. I briefly glanced at what he wrote on my lock screen, and locked the door behind me, making my way out and down the long, narrow street. I lived in the sort of "back woods" of the city. Trees overhead loomed, turning the street into a natural tunnel. Wind made them undulate rhythmically, giving the late summer night a constant soundtrack and giving the illusion of peace and quiet. Stars twinkled in the night sky, and seemed to disappear towards the direction of the heart of the city: where all the shops and traffic usually were.

I inhaled deeply, enjoying the fresh air. _Ahhh_. It's been a while since I've taken a midnight stroll.

I walked quickly, heading towards the outskirts of the city to my right. I haven't really been to the abandoned house in a while, so I really hope I remember the way. Something told me if I didn't get there quickly, the mean little demon-ghost in my phone is going to have me for dinner. As if on cue, BEN dinged loudly and I fished the phone out.

_How long's the walk?_

I sighed. Wow, we haven't even covered a block and he's already itching to get out.

"If you want," I spoke to the phone "you can come out. Everyone's basically asleep and we've got the darkness as our cover." There was a pause as I turned right again and strolled past another row of houses. A dog barked in the distant, maybe communicating with the other neighborhood dogs. Finally, my screen burst into green light and BEN appeared next to me in a flurry of tiny digital cubes. They faded away, and BEN quickly glanced around to make sure no one was around, flying by my side. "Alright. I follow you, then?" He sounded nervous, unsure of himself. Totally the opposite of what he was like the first time he showed up in my room. It made me feel a little better, somehow.

"Sure. I know these parts like the back of my hand. You're fine. You just have to keep from being seen." I lied through my teeth.

After several minutes of traversing through streets and shortcuts through private property, we came upon a chain link fence behind giant oil trucks next to a nondescript company building. Maybe a headquarters or something. Either way, I started climbing after checking no late-night trucker happened to be staggering around these parts.

As soon as I did, I felt a sharp jab on my shoulder and when I turned around, I saw BEN huddled close to the back of a truck, motioning toward the giant parking lot with his chin. "Shut up and look!" he hissed.

I did, slowly creeping toward the back of the truck and peeking out.

Someone was making their way toward our direction, a dark silhouette against the lights of the street lamps several meters away. I couldn't make out if the person was male or female due to their large trenchcoat and hoodie, but they sure as Hell weren't drunk judging by their gait. Maybe it was another midnight stroller, out to rediscover the abandoned house as well? Shit, it could even be a cop. BEN looked at me with wide eyes, but he wasn't scared. It was a you-told-me-we'd-be-fine-but-look-what's-happening-now kind of look. I smiled and shrugged, and I don't know why. I should have been scared, panicked, even annoyed. But I'm… fine. I can take this guy if he's out for a fight. If it's a cop, I can lie and say I'm looking for my dog. At midnight. Yeah, that could work.

The figure stopped near the trucks and turned toward the building so I could make out his profile. I saw BEN leaning forward from the corner of my eye, ready to jump the guy at a moment's notice. He stood there for what seemed like forever, just staring at the buildings, the floor, the trucks sometimes. I was glad we were hidden in the shadows so we didn't have to deal with any trouble from this person. Maybe he was high? Maybe he was crazy. Maybe it was a she. I don't know. I motioned for BEN's attention and pointed to the fence again. _We can leave, it's fine_, I mouthed to him, hoping he can see my face even in the dark.

He seemed to understand and took one last long look at the stranger in the parking lot before he turned and floated through the gates. I checked up on the stranger, too, before I grabbed onto the fence and hopped up, shoving the toe of my sneaker into an available space, hoisting myself up more. The fence rattled and bounced due to my shifting weight and I made my way up, gripping the top metal beam at last and hoisting my body up so I had enough time to throw my leg over to the other side. Before I righted my position, I looked up over the trucks to see if I could catch a last glimpse of the figure we had just seen, and see if they had heard my effort up the chain link fence.

There was an eerie silence when I stopped and half-laid half-balanced on the fence, watching for the stranger. I turned my attention to BEN, who was impatiently floating around in a circle, staring at me.

"Hey," I called down to him. He stopped his nervous floating.

"What?"

"Do you see him down there? The guy. Or… person?" I sat up straight and threw my other leg, like as if I was dismounting a horse. I let gravity and my nimble fingers do the rest of the work so I wouldn't have to slowly climb back down, and landed firmly on my feet. BEN craned his neck to peek over the trucks we were using to hide, and shook his head. "Uh… th-the man? He… disappeared. Are you sure he was an actual, y'know, _man_? He didn't seem human at all."

Oh, yeah. That's right! I had almost completely forgotten about Old Smokey. He was a city legend, even the local high school adopted him as their mascot and team name. The "Smokies". Definitely not controversial, huh? "That old geezer's a local legend, BEN. Some say he's a ghost, or a regular hermit. Others don't even believe he's real, because a lot of people haven't seen him. We call him Old Smokey." I started to explain. BEN made a face. "Why?" he asked as we made our way through the forest that the fence blocked off.

"Well, because no one's ever seen him, but he usually leaves a cigarette and its smell wherever he goes. There are lots of smokers, obviously. But people kind of… see him from the corner of their eye and turn and he's not there, and when they go up to where he was, they find cigarettes and a heavy cloud of smoke. Teens around here say you can even smell the smoke and hear him hacking up a lung in The Pipe sometimes."

"The Pipe?" I could see now that BEN was intrigued by this urban legend we've got here. I shrugged as we traipsed through shrubs and leaves in the forest. "The Pipe is kind of like a shortcut and a hangout at the same time. It connects the two halves of the city so walkers or bikers don't have to take the generic way around, and they can shave their travel time down by, like, a half hour. It's past some run-down neighborhood with drug dealers. You know… the _ghetto_. But it's also a particular famous site because people claim to have seen or felt Old Smokey hanging around there the most." BEN gave me a weird look as we continued walking in the dark forest.

"So, why is he an urban legend if no one has ever _seen_ him? He seems like the antisocial, human equivalent of the Sasquatch." BEN snorted, unimpressed. I smiled, seeing this as my cue to wow BEN, try my hand at storytelling and kill time walking through here all at once. This was a really big patch of woods, so I'm glad I have a story to tell to keep the awkward silence at bay.

"Now, I'm not sure if anyone believes this, or if it's even true, but a lot of stories circulate around the neighborhoods big, small, rich, or poor. There's one that tells of Old Smokey and how he saved two twin babies from a burning apartment building. Some broad couldn't get to her twins in time, and when the firefighters went in, they couldn't find the kids either. Her boyfriend even tried to go in, too. The house almost burned up before anyone could get out. They moved in with the woman's parents, crying along the way. Then… the whole family was planning a funeral or something for the twins in the living room, and they heard something weird upstairs." I paused, looking at BEN, trying to read his expression in the dark as I pushed some branches away from my face. I continued. "It was barely noticeable, but the woman's dad heard it, and then they all heard the window shutting, and they all ran upstairs, scared and thinking they were getting robbed. Guess what? Once the boyfriend opened the bedroom door, he smelled smoke and saw the two twin babies laying on the bed, happy as ever and not a single scratch on them. He almost fell over!" I chuckled a bit. "It even ended up in the papers, I saw it when I was in middle school. My friends couldn't stop talking about it."

We came upon a clearance and I veered off to the right, ducking under leafy, low-lying branches and BEN followed suit. "So he's a hero? That's it?" BEN asked. He tried to hid his eagerness for more stories under a layer of sarcasm, but it wasn't working.

"Okay, one more story and then we have to shut up when we reach the house. Uhmmm… alright, here's another one. This time, Old Smokey isn't exactly a hero. There were these teens, a gang I guess, that went around vandalizing the crap out of everything. Cops would catch them, and then let them go after a few weeks, and they'd never learn. One time, an officer was fed up and told them that if they'd ever destroy property again, they weren't going to be in holding or in Juvie or any of that frilly stuff. They were getting thrown in with the real deals in the next city over with the murderers and rapists. The gang was quiet for a few weeks, and then spring hit. It was a disaster. They were drunk, apparently, and went out to the abandoned house we're going to. Guess how it got abandoned? I don't know how, but the idiots got a hold of some explosives, and blew up almost half of the house loitering in the field next to it. Luckily, the people who lived there weren't _there_ at the time, but if they would've… well, you can fill in the rest.

"Anyways, the house is still kind of intact today, but for some reason Old Smokey was pissed at the kids even though he usually _never_ hung around these parts and went after them when they were leaving the scene of crime. The kids went ballistic when they saw a man with trench coat chase them after they've done what they did! Smokey caught and beat the crap out of one kid, accidentally killed another, and one other one managed to hide in a goddamn _log_ for 6 hours. When the police found them all, they were scarred, bruised and hysterical. They said the man's eyes_ glowed!_ Unbelievable! After that, the crime rate _dropped_ here to zero for about a year because everyone just about shat their pants." I was working myself up, to be quite honest. As much as I love computers and tech, I absolutely love stories, especially urban legends and myths. It's how I came across CreepyPasta, and BEN's story.

"You said no one ever saw this man." BEN eyed me questioningly.

"Well, no one ever found him. There were no DNA traces, no evidence that the teens were even telling the truth. They were hauled off to jail in the end, spewing bullshit about an old man with glowing eyes. But there are some believers out there. And the best part? That shit took place in the 70's, before I was even born." I laughed and we finally reached the abandoned place after stepping through some tall grass. The forest opened up to a giant field of weeds, grass, and litter. In the midst of all of this stood the giant abandoned house in all its former glory.


	5. The Abandoned House

"Well, here it is." I sighed.

A gust of wind ruffled my hair and whistled ominously through the trees, and I looked at BEN. He regarded the mansion-like estate with vague approval, almost nodding at it. Instead, he just simply said "I must say, when you said 'house' I thought it was going to be much smaller than this."

"So I guess that's like, a 'good job' from you, then?" I smiled. He just ignored me and flew over past the piles of junk and weeds.

I'm guessing that's a yes.

I followed him around the corner of the broken wooded fences and gates, toward the famous giant hole in the side and I caught him inspecting it thoroughly, probably for validation. I stood watching him do this for an eternity and he finally ducked through the hole and told me to hurry up. Okay, _sure_, tell _me_ to hurry up, I thought sarcastically. I followed him into the fenced-in and overgrown front yard. The house loomed taller than ever, the dark windows reflecting almost no light in the darkness of the night. It was covered in Kudzu vines and I'm pretty sure there were more than a few birds' nests on the roof. It _was_ uninhabited for decades now, so...

"You know what I just realized when I was looking at the giant hole? Well, I realized 3 things, actually." BEN didn't turn to me when he spoke, hovering around and checking every crack on the house for some weird reason.

"No, I don't, so shoot." I replied.

"One, we just saw Old Smokey. With our very eyes, and no one else has. Two, you're an inhuman son of a bitch, and three, I don't even know your name." He zipped around back to where the hole was in the side of the house, and I hesitantly followed. I didn't know if I really wanted to go inside at this hour, all spooky and stuff. It seemed... foreboding, especially with an angry-psycho-ghost boy who drowned when I was in middle school. Either way...

"Well, those are some pretty interesting thoughts you had while you took seven years to finally get inside. Let's see... I'll never tell you my name, that guy in the parking lot wasn't Old Smokey, and how am I an inhuman son of a bitch?"

We were in the dark and surprisingly neat living room, save for a few beer cans here and there. Man, these druggies and teenagers don't know where their limit is, do they? It felt eerie in here, even though nobody really _died_ here, the owner just packed up and left after the explosion. I guess the silence and... BEN's glowing glare made me a little apprehensive.

"What?" He snapped at me, stopping abruptly. I almost walked into him- I mean right through him.

"I'm not going to repeat what I just said."

"You said 'that guy in the parking lot wasn't Old Smokey.' You're a liar. You just wasted your breath telling me stories about your town regarding him and his tale and you're just going to lie to my face about his existence when we _just_ saw him a while ago? What a nuisance." I narrowed my eyes at him, planting my feet firmly on the ground in front of him.

"I never said Old Smokey wasn't real. I don't know if he's real or not, no one knows. But I know the guy in the lot wasn't him. How? Because if no one _else_ ever saw him before, even professional myth hunters with cameras, what are the goddamn chances _we're_ going to see him at a random time at a random place? I mean, this city is kinda small, but not _that_ small." I folded my arms across my chest to prove my point.

BEN jutted his chin out stubbornly and gave me a death stare. "That man in that parking lot was him." He said firmly, like a mother arguing with a child. "How? Because I'm a poltergeist who can easily sense humans and non-humans. I've been to Hell and back, literally, and I've got a refined sense for these things and when that man suddenly appeared in the parking lot, I immediately took note of him and his aura, and he is not human."

"What is he, then?"

BEN paused, staring at the stairs that led up to the second floor and at the kitchen doorway next to it before answering me. "He's a demon."

I started to laugh.

"Excuse you!" BEN yelled at me and I laughed even harder. Once I stopped, I straightened up and saw him disappear around the corner into the kitchen, angrily mumbling to himself. I followed him, chuckling and shaking my head.

"Okay, okay! Jesus Christ, don't get your panties in a knot. Why are you so insistent that I believe in this guy anyways? I like urban legends and stuff like that, but it doesn't mean I believe in them 100%."

The ghost was looking out the window and examining the kitchen with his back turned to me. I sighed loudly and leaned on the door frame.

"This is where I bring up the fact that you're an inhuman son of a bitch." He finally said, turning around. "Don't you realize who I am, and who you're dealing with?" I rolled my eyes. "Yes," I answered, ready to kiss some ass if I have to, "you're Majora's Mask's demonic possessor and Alex Hall's brain child. You're a CreepyPasta superstar that came to life. But you're also full of yourself, so as long as I do what you say and even bargain with you sometimes, I'll be safe for now. What does that have to do with anything?" BEN gave me a look of disapproval and disgust and shook his head slowly. "Wow, you're really something. You're either a brainless idiot or a brave badass, because I can't seem to figure out which. I'm a _CREEPYPASTA_, a piece of the Internet's folklore, a demonic entity. I'm obviously well-aware of my status on the 'net, and my position on forums and stories. But I'm real. And I wasn't _made up_ by Alex Hall, that idiot. I made him write about me. Then I erased his memory so he would deny my existence. I make nightmares come true, I _do_ kill people, and on top of that, my real story, my life, isn't something to laugh at. And we just saw another unnatural entity in a parking lot at midnight. Me being here, powerful, malevolent... and Smokey right in front of you... doesn't anything _terrify_ you?" I could see BEN was in pure disbelief, in shock that I didn't pee my pants or run away and do something stupid like call the cops or whatever. But honestly... no. I wasn't. I wasn't the tiny bit terrified, or in awe. I held to the belief that everything online was either made up or partially made up, and nothing was "not fake". Human bias and imagination got in the way, anyways, and the Internet was the perfect place to unleash all the horrors, wonders, and questionable content that mankind could possibly accumulate in their mind. So by that truth, CreepyPasta was fake, no matter how well the story was written, no matter how many pictures or "video proof" it had, no matter how terrifying. So when BEN crawled out of my computer, and started to talk about this thing he wanted me to build right away, something kind of... gave way in me and I just accepted everything that was put in front of me. I mean, I'm a pretty accepting guy in the first place. But even I have to step back for a little and say "_Whoa. Holy shit, BEN Drowned is actually fucking real!"_

But I don't do that. It's only been two days but I feel like I know BEN and can trust him. Well, not _trust_ him, but respect him to a degree. I guess, yeah. I'm a weirdo who just chills with the weirdest things and goes with the flow, no matter how mind-boggling. I don't get it, either. I suppose I'm just so wired from my ADHD and child abuse that I jump at the dumbest things like a cat leaping on a trash can or a book falling but I dick around with serial killers and monsters like nothing.

Hell, maybe _I'm_ not human. But I don't care. That's cool with me, as long as I'm not being harmed.

I looked BEN straight in his glowing red pupils and said, "No. Frankly, it doesn't. Not because you're not scary, but because I'm an ass-backwards jackass who wished for death not so long ago. I know you're real now, and that means Slenderman, Jane, Jeff and the rest of them are real, too. Or maybe some of them. But you know what? So what! I couldn't give a shit. You wanna kill me? Go ahead. You wanna invite The Rake or Jeff to have a corpse-fucking party with me? Go ahead. You wanna shove my head in a toilet? Well, I wouldn't let you do that, but to the rest of humanity you're monsters. To me, you're just fucked up people, or _things_ who like to kill. But that pretty much sums up humanity in general, so you're people. Kill me now or kill me later, it doesn't make a difference to me. I'm not going to be sad when I die 'cause I'm gonna be _dead_. Besides, you made it a point when we first met: if I ever tell anyone about any of you to anyone I'm either going to end up looking like a nut-job or I'm going to get thrown into jail." I huffed and shoved my hands in my pockets, hoping I got my point across.

BEN just stared at me in a mixture of disbelief and approval. He laughed. "Heh, you're a grade-A psychopath, you know that? I like you already."

I shrugged. "No one would miss me anyway. Let's head to the basement. If you like it down there, we'll call it a night and head back home." I really want to leave, now that I just unashamedly spilled my guts to this floating apparatus that "likes me" but is inevitably going to murder me. BEN got my drift and made his way to the back of the kitchen, pulling a table out of the way of a hidden door without a doorknob I hadn't noticed before. He felt along the walls, probably for a crack or an opening.

"Why is the door to the basement hidden away?" I wondered aloud.

"Because there's something down there that the owner or previous owner didn't want discovered?" BEN suggested as ripped the kitchen wallpaper and slipped his fingers into the thin crack. He had a little trouble actually prying the thing open and, finally giving up, just phased through the wall and blew the door open with a powerful kick that had my ballsack burrowing into my body. I glanced nervously around before peeking around the corner down into the ink-black darkness of the windowless basement. Almost immediately, a strong scent of musty dampness wafted its way up to my nose and I practically gagged. BEN was already making his way down the steps, pulling out his hologram-device-thingy for a light source. "Coming?" He called.

I had a pretty sick feeling in my stomach. I took once last glance backwards, for whatever reason, and descended, leaving the door wide open just in case.

The basement stairs were creaky as Hell, screaming bloody murder under my weight all the way down. There was no railing, just plain wooden stairs and the ceiling was pretty low, too. I watched BEN make his rounds examining the basement and I just kind of stood in the middle, dumbly looking around where I can, which was basically wherever BEN's green light glowed.

The basement seemed to be made of concrete blocks and moss was growing inside of one particular corner. A few other plants managed to sneak into the building, slowly decomposing the abode and gradually turning it into a mound of leaves, wood, and memories. It was kind of cramped in terms of height, and I even hit my head on the ceiling as I reached the bottom step, to my embarrassment. But in terms of expansive size, it was pretty impressive. There was nothing but dusty bookshelves, a workbench and an aged Elvis poster in the whole room. However, the old house had a crap ton of electrical sockets all around the walls and a dangling cord for a lightbulb built into the ceiling, so that gave me hope that maybe I can set up a router here and make this my semi-permanent base while I build this stupid thing for BEN.

He made his way to the back, and revealed that there was a second small room dedicated to a mess of inactive pipes and maybe even a breaker.

"So?" I finally said when he was done inspecting every inch of this place. He glanced backwards and ascended the stairs. "Let's get out of here before I say anything else." He said hastily.

We did, though I wondered what the heck caused BEN to act a little strangely all of a sudden. He seemed to be a lot more agitated now. I followed him through the large kitchen, shutting the door behind me, and we made our way back to the living room and out the way we came. I ducked through the fence-hole and jogged after BEN as we headed towards the slightly visible opening in the grass that I made.

"Whoa whoa whoa, BEN! Wait up! Where the Hell are you going now? Why the rush?" I caught up to him and slowed him down. He didn't stop moving, grabbing me by the hood and pulling me to his side, and when he whispered those words to me, I almost bolted from the fucking place the minute I threw a glance over my shoulder and caught sight of the figure in the grass.

"Old Smokey is right behind us."


	6. Running Start

It was a week since we last went to the abandoned house. I don't really remember most of that night after looking back and seeing a silhouette against the trashy moonlit field of the infamous abandoned house. The only thing I actually _do_ remember, if a bit hazily, is running back home without stopping. BEN flew beside me, half-pushing and half-dragging as I stumbled through the forest. I ran so fast I don't even remember climbing the fence. My breath was heavy and my sneakers slapped the asphalt obnoxiously loud as I sprinted past the houses, all blurry from my vision. I don't know how I managed to run all the way home without looking back. Maybe it was the adrenaline, or the fact that I spooked BEN enough with my awesome storytelling to make him rush me back home.

All this I recalled while I leaned on the table, balancing a pile of books with one hand, having a conversation with my best friend Marcie at work. Her whole name was Marcelina and she hated it with a passion, which I teased her for. We've known each other since kindergarten, since we've both been stuck here in this crappy little city, but it was nice being stuck with people you know inside-out in a city you know like the back of your hand. Well, at least _now_ I know this city like the back of my hand.

I never told her about the recent events and she doesn't know about BEN, which I think is for the better. She might clock me in the back of the head and tell me I'm nuts if I ever did.

"So, I'm actually thinking of getting another tattoo soon. I've been drawing it over and over in my books and I know I've got it this time." She grinned at me, tossing her hair over her shoulder to see what I thought of that.

"_Another_ one? Jesus, Marcie, you're gonna look like one of your sketchbooks yourself!"

It was true. She was tiny, thin, and looked like she couldn't even lift a bottle of water, but she sure had an amazing pain threshold. Mystical fairies, lude demons, and a bunch of strange words and symbols covered her body like stickers. But I had to admit, she looked pretty damn good. I couldn't imagine her in anything else and it's kind of hard to look back and remember what she looked like before she got into the tattoo craze. The only reason she was even allowed to get one is because her dad was a tattoo artist working in a parlor outside of the city. He was pretty proud of her, too. Ever since then, she's always kept me alert on her body art status.

Marcie didn't answer as she stacked and organized the Horror section of the bookstore, silently judging each book as she'd always done before. "Are ghosts the new rage in the world of literature now? This is the thousandth time I've seen a ghost story this week." I placed the books I had in my hand on the table and straightened up, looking over the top of Marcie's head to see which book she held. She was so hilariously short, I basically towered over her. I caught sight of the title of the book, "Paranormal's Witching Hour: Real Testimonies and Accounts" before she shoved the thick book in between the rest. "Are you really that interested in this, Prince?" she said, sensing me leaning behind her and taking the book out again and holding it over her shoulder for me to grab. I felt myself get a little hot in the face and I snatched the book from her before leaning on the table once again. I hated it when she called me Prince. It was her little pet name for me, ever since we were in elementary school. Actually, it was _everyone's_ pet name for me, and I felt like a major douchebag whenever someone referred to me as royalty. I thought it was condescending at first. Now it slips out of everyone's lips like it means nothing.

I flipped through the book, eventually turning the thing over and reading the back. It was a paperback book, a collection of people's accounts on their experiences with ghosts and the paranormal. Me and Marcie used to love junk like this because we would huddle in the corner, flipping through ghost books and laughing over the cheesy bullshit publishers thought would have them strike it rich. I caught her looking at me, expecting a joking reaction from me like always. "Well? How bad is it, from a scale of 1 to 10?" she giggled. I only met her expectant smile with a blank look. "I don't know what you're talking about. It's not bad." I answered and her face immediately dropped. I leaned over her, pushing the book back into its empty slot on the shelf and picked up my own stack to organize. I headed to my assigned station with Marcie trailing after me.

"Uhm, excuse me, Your Highness! What the Hell happened to you, you're dragging your feet around like you haven't slept in weeks and now you look like you've seen a ghost! Prince! Look at me." She grabbed my shoulder and I turned around. I saw confusion and anger in her eyes. I shrugged it off. "I need to work to get my pay, Mar. No big deal."

"What about that book?" She shifted her weight to one foot and placed her fists on her hips. Did I mention she was like a second mother to me? Well, technically a third. I shook my head and returned to my shelf, placing Self-Help books and checking for any damages to the other ones. "I don't know what you're so riled up for, I'm fine. There's nothing about that book, it's a _book_, for God's sakes."

"I saw your face when you looked at the back."

"Uh huh."

"And with the way you've been acting lately, I have a right to be concerned, young man."

"Yes, mommy."

She whacked me on the arm, almost making me drop a book and I laughed. "Well at least you're not out of it to make jokes and act like an ass!" She shouted. The shop owner came out of his "back office" and gave us a look.

"Just because you're the only two people here, it doesn't mean you can start acting up. Keep it down." He warned. We apologized and when he ducked back out of sight me and Marcie looked at each other, suppressing an explosion of laughter. I don't know what it was, but I just loved getting in trouble with Marcie because she acted like such a goof when we did. It was a riot.

"Okay, so you might just be a little tired." she finally said, brushing the hair out of her eyes and giving me a light punch on the shoulder. "Don't worry me like that, alright? God, I thought you were actually possessed. You've been acting really weird lately!"

Wow, was it that obvious?

"Well, uh… sorry, _mother_. I've just been having the shittiest sleep in my life. I'm sure it'll pass." I'm so good at lying it even scares me sometimes. She shook her head disapprovingly at me and waved a finger jokingly, before crossing the room to go back to her duties. I sighed once I knew she was out of earshot and mumbled to myself. God, BEN, you ass. You're sucking the life out of me.

* * *

It was midnight once I waved goodbye to Marcie and stepped out the door. Tonight had been a slow night, with only a few customers coming in to purchase a few books and comics. I was glad. Me and Marcie had a nice, quiet coffee break. We were used to the dark hours, and generally had a flopped life schedule from most other people. Wake up before 10AM, have breakfast, lunch and dinner and then go to bed around 11PM? Ha, yeah right. I go to bed at 6AM, as the sun is rising and I get up as the sun is slipping into the horizon in the evening, ready to say hello to the other side of the world for a good 10 hours or so. I do everything I have to do in between. I'm rarely ever up and out when the sun is shining. I guess that's why I'm so pale.

I arrived home, my porch light flickering, yelling at me to change the damn thing before it dies out and I'm left to struggle opening the door in complete darkness. I ignored it instead, unlocking the door and entering into my familiar living room. I dropped my bag and sweater next to the door as I usually do and headed for my room down the hall. I half expected BEN to be on my bed doing something, and half-expected him to not be anywhere at all… physically.

I pushed open the door and found my room empty. Well, looks like I was right. Time to take a shower, grab a bite to eat, maybe surf the Web a little bit. Ah, what the Hell was I talking about. I'm going to surf the Web _a lot_.

I started pulling off my work vest and shirt when a notification ding sounded in my room, almost giving me a heart attack.

I rushed over to my computer, moving the mouse around to reveal a window set smack dab in the middle of my screen. Major Mask. BEN. Christ, what could he want now? And why was he messaging me when he knows he could just appear in my room? I looked down. Wait, maybe that might not be such a good idea right now.

**Maj. Mask: So, how did work go?**

**gravecalibrator: like hell if that's what you want to know. come on, why did you REALLY message me?**

**Maj. Mask**: Oh, come on. Can't I check up on you every once in a while? What's so bad about that?

**gravecalibrator: everything. what do you want?**

**Maj. Mask**: Have you been attentive lately?

I sighed. Clearly, I'm not going to get straight answer. Why would I even expect anything like that from BEN anyways?

**gravecalibrator: attentive for what? if i need to be expecting something, you should tell me. now.**

**Maj. Mask**: Look under the bed.

I stiffened when he typed that, and I slowly turned around, expecting some kind of pop-up scare or monster to be behind me. Nothing was there. Good, I'm seriously underdressed to do any kind of fighting. I slowly got up from my chair and kneeled down next to my bed, reaching under. Oh, please don't let it be anything gruesome. I really don't need that right now. My fingers touched paper and I pulled it out curiously. It was yellow, old, and by the way it was folded, it was _big_. I unfolded it carefully, fearing I might actually tear the thing otherwise. Pieces of it flaked off the edges but I managed to spread it out on my floor and take a good look.

Wow.

It was an old map of the city I lived in, probably dating back to the 60's, at least. There were some unfamiliar buildings and areas that were different from today, and I noticed even the bookstore I worked at wasn't on the map. Golly, I wonder what year this map was updated.

I rose at sat back down on the chair, squinting at the new message BEN typed.

**Maj. Mask**: Old map I found at the abandoned house when I went back again. I'll mark the locations you need to go to find the parts later. It took a while, but I'm fairly confident we'll get off on the right foot. We might also be receiving outside help when needed, so be prepared to... make new friends.

**gravecalibrator: uh. okay.**

**gravecalibrator: how old is this map anyway?**

**Maj. Mask**: That doesn't matter. What's important is that the map shows where you need to go as opposed to modern maps. I've been traveling around the city, getting acquainted with the lay of the land. I found this map and it seems to come from a reliable and trustworthy source. It tells the truth.

I stared at the last two sentences, chewing on my bottom lip. What the Hell does he mean by "the truth"? The true places? I never knew there were hidden nooks and crannies to this old city. Sure, it had a lot of history but I never bothered to figure them out. I leave that kind of shit for history nuts to roll in. Anyways, for a hand-drawn map, it looked pretty damn impressive.

I leaned forward and pulled the thin paper up to my lap and balanced it on the edge of my desk, analyzing it closely.

Now that he mentioned it, I could see the loose pencil lines, smudged with age, mark rough terrain and sloppily-drawn squares representing important buildings. Words scrawled on the map, sharp and small, pointed out different routes and "secret entrances". I gawked at them. The words were informal, almost as if referring to a friend. One little blurb pointed to The Pipe, saying, _Don't go in here. Avoid this at all costs. There's another way around, much less dangerous. No one knows_

One, pointing to where my job _should_ be says, _Sewers in here are dry. Gov't cut them off. Building going to be built over this, I hear. Maybe they'll soon become an underground catacomb_

My brow furrowed at this, excited at finding new secrets and discoveries about my home place, but also skeptical at the same time. What if this was a trick being played on me by BEN? Who's to say BEN didn't write all of this? I don't know why he would waste his time doing all of this, frankly. But still, it could be a possibility.

I sighed and leaned back, rubbing my face with both hands. I looked back at the computer clock which read 12:24AM, and then back to the messaging window.

**gravecalibrator: alright, i trust it. this is pretty mind blowing, to tell you the truth, but i'll trust it. i've got no other choice, do i? **

**Maj. Mask**: Good. I don't want you running into Mr. Smoke again, so we'll start scavenging tomorrow afternoon.

I groaned in disbelief. Seriously?

**gravecalibrator: i'm ASLEEP in the afternoon, dude! jesus christ, BEN i thought you knew that.**

**Maj. Mask**: Suck it up and deal. You want to get this done and over with? You want to get out of this alive? You do what I say. You're lucky I'm the one who ran into you instead of anyone else...

**gravecalibrator: what the fuck is that supposed to mean? "lucky" is far from my current situation right now, buddy. you're draining me with nightmares and paranoia.**

**Maj. Mask**: Doesn't seem like it. Sure, I give you nightmares to keep you in check, but anything else is completely self-inflicted, Mr. Wise Guy. Man up and stop whining. At least I'm taking care of you and I even saved your life.

**gravecalibrator: oh? when?**

**Maj. Mask**: Did our little trip to the abandoned house last week slip your mind, or are you just acting like an idiot on purpose?

**gravecalibrator: bullshit, you didn't save me at all. that man was not smokey, or even if it was, he wasn't hurting anyone. he was watching us. big deal. we weren't doing anything anyway.**

**Maj. Mask**: He told us to get out of there. Specifically to US. How do you think I knew when to flee from the basement when I did? That was his home we were invading, you nimrod.

My fingers were frozen on top of my keyboard after I read that, a deep sinking feeling developing in my stomach. What? His home? We found Old Smokey's home? Old Smokey didn't _have_ a home, that was part of his legend! Unless...

Well... either way, if that was his home we've got another problem on our hands. I glanced at the now folded map on my lap.

**gravecalibrator: if that was his house, then you've just stolen something pretty damn important from him. **

**Maj. Mask**: I know. 

**gravecalibrator: uhhhh**

**gravecalibrator: and that doesn't concern you because?**

**Maj. Mask**: Because I can't die. It's only you who can die and I need to keep you alive until you're done building this thing for me. Defending you is pretty easy. So I say we still "borrow" Smoke's house for a bit, and if he becomes enraged about it, he'll have to deal with me.

My stomach was churning now. Thinking about two legends, one local and one international, clashing in a decaying house with me standing as a spectator made my heart race. I craved a cigarette, badly. It's been a while since I've last smoked, thinking I'd quit on my own. I was doing a good job until this weird little demon showed up and tried to turn my life upside down. I sighed, tossing the old handmade map on my bed, and logging off. But BEN wanted to chat, not letting me go.

**Maj. Mask**: Ready to go? So soon? I'll warn you about something before you go and shower, Prince.

My eyes widened. _Prince?_ What the fuck...

**Maj. Mask**: That's right. Panic. I told you I was keeping an eye on you. She's pretty cute, that Marcie. I'd keep her out of our business if I were you. Unless you want to see her get hurt.

**gravecalibrator: you stay away from her, you son of a bitch. she doesn't know anything about any of this and she's not going to do anything. STAY AWAY.**

**Maj. Mask**: Whoa there. I never intended to anyways. That was a warning, not a threat. From now on, you're a walking target until you die. It's just what happens when you're sought after by a CreepyPasta. I'd protect anyone you know by keeping your mouth shut if I were you. 

**Maj. Mask**: You're a bit protective of her, aren't you?

I noticed a hint of playfulness in his text, poking fun at me. I didn't necessarily _like _her like that. I used to, before I met my ex-girlfriend. Marcie was always my friend, protecting me from the bullies whenever they tried to pick on us, and since she was always so frail since she was born, I'd fist-fight anyone who dared hurt her. It was a mutual friendship, nothing more. We needed each other as much as anyone else would need a best friend, and Marcie- the gangly little "freak" as bullies would call her- just happened to be _my_ best friend and hung out with me more. Me. Tall, pale, me with a serious face and a serious jawline and a serious rap sheet in school. I think maybe she noticed me in the first place because I was always getting into trouble for beating up other kids. Not my fault. They were always little pricks. I returned from my thoughts to the screen and typed out a reply.

**gravecalibrator: yes, i am. you don't have a friend you've known since kindergarten, so you couldn't possibly understand. **

**Maj. Mask**: No friends since kindergarten, but I have friends. And you'll probably be meeting them sometime in the near future.

And with that, my computer shut off without me even looking at the Start button in the corner. I exhaled sharply and got up again, slipping out of my jeans and boxers and grabbing a towel from my closet. I really needed a long, hot shower, to think and to breathe. And then I needed a nice, long snooze afterwards. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day.


	7. Underground

I squinted at the bright sky and then looked down at the map BEN tossed at my face this morning when I was in bed. It wasn't even 1 in the afternoon yet, and my eyes already burned. Man, I really hate the daylight.

I was wandering downtown, iced coffee in hand, trying to look for this stupid machine part he marked on the ancient paper which just so happened to be in a "secret passage" underground near where I'm standing. I probably looked like a crazy foreign bastard, hair disheveled, and map in hand, except that I regularly got my coffee here and everyone basically knew me. That's why I was getting weird looks as I walked down the streets. Everyone knows I'm not out and about when the sun is scorching the earth.

Augusts here are a bitch to live through. I can't imagine why anyone would want to go outside in this oppressive weather. I folded the map, downed the rest of my frozen caffeinated beverage and discarded the container in a public bin next to a tree.

I don't understand where the Hell I was supposed to find the entrance to this underground complex if I don't even know how to get inside? Nevermind the fact that all of this area where it supposedly lies under is busy with throngs of shoppers and crowds and stores galore. I stood on a curb, watching traffic go by in front of me and avoiding getting in the way of any pedestrian. My phone vibrated in my pocket and I whipped it out, glaring at the barely visible wording on my lock screen.

_Head to the back of the bookstore, you halfwit_

Gee, thanks asshole. Like as if that's the first place I'd _like_ to go. I figured the entrance to the place I work at was there, since Old Smokey basically spelled it out for me. But I didn't want to get caught snooping around there before my shift starts. It'd seem... _weird..._ and I don't want to arouse suspicion. I mean, I'm already the local weirdo, I don't need any more attention attracted to me, especially from my boss!

I loitered around a grocery store after I crossed the street, pretending to text someone while stalling for time. Finally, I headed to the store, taking the long way around so no one saw me through the giant glass windows in the front and I ended up behind a chain link fence separating the overgrowth from the sidewalk in a shoddy neighborhood. Through the weeds, I could see the bookstore and the dumpster I used to throw the trash in before we got a paid volunteer to do that. Why do I always seem to run into a chain link fence? I never realized there were so many around this city until that visit to the abandoned house.

I need to stop moping around and get a move-on...

I looked around and saw a hole in the fence I could crouch through and immediately took the opportunity. The dry grass crunched underneath my Chucks as I duck-walked into the plants, hoping no one was on their break and deciding to have a cigarette behind the building right now. I made my way through the greenery and stepped onto asphalt, scanning the area for any movement. I began to look for anything that remotely looks like an entrance underground. Under the dumpster, in the shrubs, and even on the side that was blocked off by a large house with fences surrounding it.

20 minutes passed, at least, before I gave up and returned back to the overgrowth and the fence. I dived into the hole, straightened up, and was turning to leave the way I came when I almost went into cardiac arrest. A woman was standing on her porch steps showing a generous amount of cleavage across the street to my left, and waving. At me. Do I know her? I strained my eyes to see her face clearer, and then it hit me: Shit, it's Ana! I stood there awkwardly, embarrassed that I got caught by someone I actually knew.

She called my name, beckoning me to join her on her porch, and I obeyed. As I got closer to her, I saw that she was having a cigarette, most likely relaxing while she could.

"So, little Prince. How the Hell are ya?" She dragged on her cigarette, raising a penciled eyebrow and eyeing me the way she always used to. I shrugged, climbing the stairs and perching myself on the top of the railing, praying it wasn't broken or anything. My phone vibrated against my leg, most likely BEN pissed off that I haven't found the damn entrance yet, but I ignored it. Ana leaned on the railing casually and offered me a cigarette and a lighter which I gladly took.

"It's been a long time since we've actually talked to each other, and you're not even bothering to have a normal conversation with me?" Her lipsticked mouth twitched amusedly. Oh God, why was I looking at her lips? Ana was in her 40's, for fuck's sake!

Anabelle was a family friend who always made me cookies and shit whenever I visited her house. Since my dad disappeared and my mom was an alcoholic, I was never home too much and I roamed all over the city in a stolen bike with my friends all through middle school and some of high school. I grew to be street-savvy and I knew everyone around. Since Ana was a motherly kind of gal, and she was the only one who ever offered her house to us, me and my friends came in packs, a frenzy of hands snatching at any kind of food we could find and we'd all settle on the couch comfortably for the 6:00 cartoon that evening, right after the sports games. It was comical, like we were a pack of dogs doing our own thing, but by 5:30 we'd all turn up at Ana's door like loyal pups no matter what. Eventually, Ana became like my adopted mother who paid way more attention to me than my real mother ever could. Makes sense, since she never had kids and probably wanted a son like me.

Thing is... Ana was a prostitute. She still is, at 43. No one wanted a group of kids hanging in a prostitute's house, especially some of my friends' parents. We visited her in secrecy, swearing never to tell anyone. I, on the other hand practically lived with her. When my mom would throw her drunken tantrums and direct her rage at me, I'd flee and sleep over at Ana's. I didn't care whether she was "doing business" in the other room or not. I could cover my ears.

All of that ended after I graduated high school, when my mom died, most likely from an overdose or something. Good riddance. I didn't attend her funeral. The house legally belonged to me, and I never budged from this city because I didn't have any college savings around and I needed to pay off the mortgage. I could've sold the house. But why? I had nowhere to go, nowhere to be. College was too damn expensive. I couldn't do anything. I'm happy right here.

True, it's been a while, though. I didn't even know Ana moved.

"Hey," I chuckled, scratching the back of my head, "it _has_ been a while, but I've been kinda busy since my mom died."

Ana nodded slowly, exhaling a cloud of smoke as I inhaled. We sat there smoking like chimneys and thinking in silence for an awkward while before Ana finally popped the obvious question: "What were you doing behind that fence?"

I hesitated.

"Ah, you know. Looking around for... my cat." I lied.

"Your... cat? Since when do you like cats?"

"Well, you know, I found the thing on my porch last winter and it was freezing, so I decided to help a fella out."

Ana threw her head back and laughed, to my chagrin.

"So what's the 'fella' called?" She asked. I thought about that for a second.

"Ben." I finally said.

She wagged her head at me and laughed a little more. "Wow, you really expect me to believe that bullshit? I know it's been like, three years since-"

"Four." I interrupted her.

"What? Oh yeah, four years since I last saw you, but I practically raised you, you little turd!" She laughed long and hard and I stared at her. "Look," she said, gingerly wiping the tears out of her eyes so she wouldn't mess up her eyeliner, "if you don't want me poking my nose into your business, that's fine. You're an adult now, I'm not like your mom anymore. I was just curious! I haven't seen my favorite boy in years, and I wasn't even sure you lived here anymore."

"Well, I do."

"Yeah, duh! I know that now! I really don't care about what you're doing, though. You don't need to lie about that to me. Come on." She took another drag and blew the smoke my way. "I just wanna know why you've stopped paying old Ana here visits all of a sudden."

"Like I said, I've been busy."

"For four years? Shut up!"

I laughed uncomfortably and wished BEN would hop off my damn nuts for a second. His messaging was driving me crazy! "Look, Ana. I'm sorry I haven't been seeing you lately, but after my mom died I just kind of wanted to..."

"Oh, please." She rudely cut me off. "You were throwing a goddamn _party_ when Patricia passed away, don't try to play the pity card on me."

"You didn't let me finish! After my mom died, I wanted to live my life the way I wanted to all along. Thanks to her death and my graduation, I can sleep whenever I want, eat whenever I want, and do whatever the Hell I want. You're not the only one I haven't been talking to. Fuck!" I whipped my phone out of my pocket and looked at the friggin' thing. BEN was having a fit, calling me all kinds of stupid names to gain my attention. Ana furrowed her brows at me.

"Ah, jealous girlfriend?" She wondered. I shook my head. "Look, I gotta go. Thanks for the cigarette, but I'm kind of in a rush here. Apparently, I'm not allowed to take breaks."

"One Hell of a job you have."

"Yeah, something like that." I mumbled, putting out my cigarette on the railing and flicking it off on the sidewalk. I hopped down and straightened my shirt, turning my damn phone off. I reached the bottom step and was about to set foot on the concrete when Ana said, "It's not there."

I abruptly halted and turned around to see her arms crossed over her ample chest, cigarette held between her manicured fingers. She wasn't even looking at me. "What?" I called up to her.

"The entrance you're looking for isn't there. They blocked it off." I stared at her, not actually believing the words coming out of her mouth. How did she...?

"But there's another entrance made by some lunatic who owned this house before. Come." She motioned toward her front door and opened it, disappearing inside. I hesitated before following her.

The living room was pleasantly neat, even if it was sparsely furnished and a small kitchen without walls was connected to it, separated by a cluttered wooden table. I saw her curvy frame disappear into a door next to the kitchen and I promptly followed, looking down stairs that led directly to her basement. I descended the stairs, feeling a pang of déjà vu. Ana was standing on the other side of the dank room, struggling to remove a large metal panel from the wall. She wrenched it off with her hands and sighed, turning to look at me with half-closed eyes.

"The underground tunnels are down there. You're gonna get yourself killed, but it it's what you're looking for..." She nodded towards it, telling me to get going.

I stayed put in the middle of the basement, eyeing her suspiciously. "What do you mean I'm going to get myself killed?" I asked accusingly.

"Well, it's pitch-black in there- believe me, I know- and there are people in there sometimes. Maybe they're murderers." My phone vibrated harshly and I checked the message.

_Do it, you asshole. I'll take care of the lighting problem._

I chuckled and put it away. Alright, Benny boy. You want me to risk my life for this? Sure. I'll do it.

I nodded at Ana and she stepped aside, letting me duck into the large round hole in the concrete wall. I looked around, seeing if I could catch anything. The hole was big enough for me to crawl in without feeling squished, curving sharply to the right, but it sure was cold and dark in there. I should have brought a sweater just in case, but it was so hot outside that I only wore a thin T-shirt and jeans. Shit.

Whatever. I proceeded forward on all fours without a backwards glance. I heard Ana wishing me luck before slipping the cover back on, sealing me in darkness. I pulled out my phone, giving the tunnel an eerie glow. The light soon got brighter and greener, and I knew BEN was keeping his promise.

I crawled forward, eventually reaching a sharp drop that revealed dark and musty branching tunnels below. The hole was at least 6 feet high above the concrete walkway that wrapped around the walls. Between the walkways a space was cut 3 feet down, which was once a place for sewage to fester. Now it was blackened and dried up.

I sat to the side, pulling my legs in front of me so they swung down the opening and I maneuvered my body to face the opening so I could slide down the wall and still have a good grip on the edge in case of anything. I seriously need to find a makeshift ladder or something to stack, I thought as I landed on the walkway. I turned around and shined my phone light around, bathing the abandoned tunnels in green light and playing strange shadows against the rusty pipes on the wall. BEN suddenly started to materialize next to me in the familiar flurry of digital green cubes, nearly giving me a heart attack.

"Well?" He retorted irritably at me.

"Well what?" I fired back. "We're here, now tell me where the stupid thing is so we can get out!"

BEN shook his head at me, glaring. His glowing red pupils were more intense in the low lighting, I realized. "There's an electrical room in the middle of all of this, which is disabled and trashed thanks to appointed engineers. We need to get something from there, and you'd better pray nothing is down here while you're at it. Let's get moving." We started heading to the right, since there were no tunnels leaving to the left. While we walked, we talked.

"I don't understand. You're here, you know where everything is, you know how to build this machine doohickey... why do you need _me_ of all people to get the parts?" I asked.

BEN sighed loudly, like as if he's explaining this to me for the hundredth time. "Look, you clearly don't understand anything about ghosts, so I guess I'll spell it out for you since you're already deep into this situation to get out of it anyways. I can't hold or carry solid objects, and that includes people and animals too. It's draining if I do. I don't have enough energy to go about doing this, unless I'm underwater or near a powerful transformer out in the middle of no where. Get it? It doesn't matter how big or small, it takes a lot of power to do it."

"Why water and electricity? I get that you drowned, but I don't know why those things are your... batteries, I guess. I thought all ghosts can't stray too far from their bones."

"That applies to souls roaming the Earth, not me. I'm a special kind of ghost. You've heard of a poltergeist?" I nodded. So he was a poltergeist, huh. "Good. That's all you need to know." He looked away, floating steadily beside me.

Oh. Wow. Okay. He didn't tell me anything else and I didn't ask. Eventually, he took the lead and I followed him in silence, save for my shoes occasionally scuffing the concrete and throwing surprisingly sharp echoes throughout the winding tunnels.

The rest of our trip through the winding labyrinth was long and repetitive, with BEN taking several sharp turns left and right. Sometimes I even thought he was lost. My phone's battery was looking pretty low, so I was getting worried, but I trusted that BEN would light the way if my light source failed. How long has it been since I hopped down from the hole?

We finally found it. My green light revealed a door across a flimsy rusty bridge that connected the two strips of concrete over the cavity in the ground. The door was partially open, revealing even more darkness inside. "Great." I muttered under my breath. Here we go. BEN disappeared into thin air without warning, leaving me to cross the bridge alone and cautiously open the door.

A sudden draft colder than the air in the tunnels blew its way onto my back, making the hairs on my neck stand up. I shuddered and listened to the heavy metal door marked "ELECTRICAL" squeak on its hinges. I felt like someone was watching me, and analyzing my every move, besides BEN of course. But when I turned around and waved my phone around to shine light back, no one was there.

I brushed it off as simple paranoia and headed inside.

A putrid smell rose up to my nostrils, almost knocking me off my feet. I gagged and coughed loudly.

"Shut up, idiot! It's a dead body, just retrieve the wiring and we'll be on our way." _A dead body?!_ Yeah, he said that like as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

Wiring, though...

I lifted my light to reveal two twin machines, monsters bigger than me. They had buttons and switches covering every side, with cords as thick as snakes hanging unplugged and coiling on the floor. Generators squatted on the side, as if cowering from them, or in this case, sleeping. I wondered what all this heavy machinery was used for, but I didn't have too much time to stand there and gawk, because BEN was already hurrying me up and grabbing my phone from me.

"Come on, don't just stand there! I'll shine the light, you get to collecting the wiring. All of them!" He commanded. I got busy. It took a lot of pulling and twisting and effort to get every one of those giant cords out, but I did it despite a dead body was rotting away somewhere nearby and making me choke on air. To be honest, I don't want to know who committed suicide down here. There were 6 cords in total, all at least 20 feet in length. What for, I don't know. All I knew was that they were heavy as Hell! I gathered them up as neatly as I could and hoisted them over my shoulder, praying BEN wouldn't think of being an ass to me and leaving me in complete darkness. He was hovering nervously by the door, peeking out. I took that as a bad sign.

"Uhm, I… got the wiring. Anyone out there?" I said quietly. He shook his head and motioned for me to get going, flying through the doorway. I saw my phone light being frantically swept from side to side. If there was something BEN didn't want to tell me, it'd better not be something important, otherwise I'd _kill_ him. Or re-kill him. I didn't want to run into anyone who was going to kick my ass.

I hurried across the bridge and followed BEN as he swiftly led the way back to the entrance from whence we came. We took faster routes, and sometimes I peered over my shoulder to see if anyone was really following us. I caught a shadow or two out of the corner of my eye disappearing into a tunnel, and I got freaked out. Why is it that whenever we went to an important place we're getting chased? It _had_ to be Old Smokey. No one would spook BEN as much as that guy can.

We finally found the large hole I came in through faster than I thought we would, and I tossed the billion lbs. of cords over my shoulder I dragged through the tunnel.

BEN shut off my light all of a sudden, surrounding us in complete darkness and I would have cried out if he hadn't pressed his hand over my mouth to shut me up. My back was facing the tunnels, my arms raised to pull myself back up to the hole with BEN's cold form on my side. I was freezing, my teeth practically chattering. What the Hell was going on? I didn't hear at first, but after straining my ears and waiting for a second, I heard footsteps. They were the unmistakable footsteps with the solidity of heavy boots coming from somewhere to my left. Whoever this person was, they knew we were in here because they took slow, deliberate steps to mute the noise they could have made. This was someone who was stalking us. It was Old Smokey.

Oh, God, please don't let me die here! I started to slowly and quietly pull my weight up, putting pressure on the wall with my foot to hoist myself up. BEN let his hand slip away from my mouth once he understood my intentions and he shoved my phone in my pocket for me. After an eternity of physical strain, I sat on the edge of the hole on top of the pile of cords and tucked my legs inside, feeling much safer and proud of myself. The footsteps were close to me, almost right down below that I could just barely make out the vague silhouette of the person with my "night-vision". It was indeed a man, broad-shouldered and he was standing still. I almost wanted to lean over and look at him closely, but BEN appeared behind me, pulling on my shirt and hissing in my ear. I had no choice but to quietly turn around, collect the wiring, and drag it back in. I really wish this hole was large enough for me to walk upright in. It'd make escaping local legends and hauling giant wires a whole lot easier. BEN disappeared once again, leaving the task completely up to me again.

Once I reached the metal panel Ana had in her basement, I lightly knocked on it, the dull rapping echoing throughout the tunnel and down into the sewers. I froze, hoping Smokey couldn't hear it down there. I eventually heard Ana's own footsteps getting louder and she pulled the panel away.

"Christ in Heaven! What were you doing down there that took you so long! Look at you, you're practically shaking outta your damn skin." She pulled me into her basement, slamming the covering back in place once the cords were out of there, and looking me all over like a fussy mother. "What're those giant wires for? You look like you came back from a construction site on crack!"

God, how I missed being nagged at by a woman.

When I looked down, though, she had a point. I was covered in dirt, dust and grime from my crawl through the handmade tunnel and my visit to the empty electrical room. The cords were draped all over me, adding to another layer of debris and dust on my clothing. But that was the least of my worries.

I cleared my throat and rubbed my cold hands together, preparing to lie again. "Ah, yeah. Had to get these things out of there for a project." Ana cocked her hip and tilted her head at me, giving me The Look, but before she could open her mouth to interrogate me detective-style, I brushed past her, carrying the cords in my arms and on my shoulders to head upstairs and out of her house. I had to haul these back home and think about everything that just happened right now, and ask BEN why the Hell the city legend was chasing after us whenever we went somewhere.


	8. Attack

It was midnight again, and I slumped down in my computer chair chatting with BEN again. Apparently, it was the only way he could communicate with me while saving energy. Energy was oh, so precious to him. He couldn't waste a single atom of it unless he needed to. I held a half-empty bottle of vodka in my hand and by now, I couldn't even see the letters on my keyboard. The bottle of vodka was something I kept under my bed and sipped at every once in a while. BEN was making me lose my month's worth.

**gravecalibrator: wy thr hell are youm even doing thid to me, goddman it!youre draggin me arond like**

**gravecalibrator: like a mom. idiot. i didn't asl for ths. stop! i cant**

**Maj. Mask: Wow. You're really hammered, huh? Poor you, falling all over your keyboard. You sicken me. Pull yourself together, because this is going to be going on until you've screwed in the last nail to my invention. **

**gravecalibrator: shut up. i dont hv to go throgn thid. i cn quit.**

**Maj. Mask: If you do, I'll drown you.**

**gravecalibrator: liar. youre scrd like me. your scred of **

**gravecalibrator: Old sMoeky**

**Maj. Mask: Hahahaha! Wow. Okay. Yes, you've got me. I'm scared of Old Smokey. Yes.**

**gravecalibrator: you knw uyi are.**

**gravecalibrator: dont lie to me.**

**Maj. Mask: I am laughing so hard at your foolishness. Sometimes I long to be a human again, but all I have to do is talk to you and I'm cured of my doubts. As for Old Smokey, I'm not scared… per se. He's trying to get in my way, so I evade him. My treaty says I'm not allowed to tangle with demons like him. **

**gravecalibrator: bulshit. what trwty**

**Maj. Mask: Nothing you're supposed to know about. Just down that vodka and go die of liver failure, you halfwit. **

**gravecalibrator: fuck you. im' not doni anything you sya. **

BEN logged me off and shut my computer. I don't have any control of my phone, or computer. He left my microwave alone, but anything that I can possibly use to communicate with is totally under his control. I feel trapped. He's oppressive and dogmatic, never letting me have a say in anything. I mean, I guess I'm pretty laid back and accepting, but if I ever tried to protest he'd chew me up and spit me back out. It was horrible. On top of that, he was controlling my dreams, too. I dreamt of these weird kids in masks grabbing me and tying me down to some table. They'd try to stitch a mask on me, but I'd wake up before that happens. One night I even dreamt that BEN stepped in to stop the kids and grab the mask from them. He shook a finger at me, but when he opened his mouth to say something, I couldn't hear him. I could hear a clock ticking.

I think it was a warning. But a warning for what? I can't think, I'm too drunk. I tried to stand up and push my chair back but my head reeled when I did and I ended up staggering to my bed and flopping down on it face-first. I think I spilled the alcohol. Oh well.

I eventually felt my eyelids start to get heavy and my vision a lot darker. I gave in to the pull and blacked out.

* * *

When I came to, the sun was shining through my window and I was still laying in my stupid position on the bed, drooling all over my sheets. I rolled over and sat up quickly, watching my room spin for a while before my vision eventually corrected itself. Everything was as it should have been, nothing changed. My vodka bottle actually landed right-side-up so I didn't lose any good alcohol. My computer was still shut off, my curtains open. Ugh. As usual, I have a headache. Man, hangovers are the worst. Time to swallow half a gallon of water and a box of saltine crackers.

I got up, making my way through the hallway, livingroom and kitchen. BEN was already standing there in the middle, examining a steak knife in suspicious fascination. When he saw me, he placed on the counter behind him and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well, well, well. Look who finally got up after his pity-party last night. You look like shit." He sneered at me. I glared back at him.

"I _feel_ like shit. Listen, what the Hell are you doing here?"

"I'd watch that mouth if I were you. I can do so much worse than what I'm doing now. We were going to head to the house again in the daylight, but sunset's in half and hour, so I have to postpone that for tomorrow. Because of you." He added harshly. I moved past him to the refrigerator and pulled out a gallon of water.

"Why do you always want to do things like this in the daylight?" I took a swig straight out of the gallon and leaned on the open refrigerator door. BEN looked uncomfortable again, reaching for the steak knife again and examining the handle like as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. "It's 'cause of Smokey, ain't it?" I grinned.

"It's because I don't want to mess with him when I'm being closely watched." He snapped back. "I'm not telling you my back story, so you're just going to have to trust me on that one. I can't touch him. If I do, I'm in heaps of trouble up to my damn eyes. And I don't want to go back…" He shuddered. I was a little out of it, but even I could sense BEN's discomfort and dilemma. I knew that he wasn't one to bat an eyelash at the small things, so I knew what he was talking about was a big deal. I just wish he wasn't being so secretive about it. I shrugged it off and took another giant gulp of water before I capped the gallon and threw it back in the fridge. I walked over to my cabinets and found a glass of water in there. I looked over my shoulder to find BEN staring at me with his eyebrows raised.

"BEN?" I asked.

"Yes?"

"What is this doing in my cabinet?"

"I'm surprised you haven't noticed the living room. And the bathroom. And the rest of the kitchen."

I turned around, as if taking in the place for the first time and I spotted many cups and containers of mine scattered around, all filled with water. I calmly walked out to the living room, and saw dozens of other cups and even bowls filled to the brim with water. How in the Hell did I miss these when I walked into the kitchen? I turned around and stood in front of BEN, my face expressionless.

"Explain."

"Oh, come on!" BEN chuckled nervously. "You already know how I am. I decided to do a little bit of… redecorating. For my benefit, of course. Nothing major, just don't knock over any cups and you'll be fine, I'm sure. I just need it to… you know… feel more _at home_ around here."

I clenched my hand into a fist and shook it in front of his nose. He backed up, laughing mischievously. "You're upset about that? They're just a few cups and bowls."

"I don't care about the water in the cups and bowls. I'll have less cups to drink in, yeah. But the fact that you think you can do this stupid stuff without me knowing about any of it… aagh! I fucking hate that! My space is _mine_, and yours is _yours_! Stay out of my house! _You're not the king of anything you want to be_!" I shouted. BEN's grin immediately dropped and he stubbornly planted his feet on the ground, glaring right back at me with his eyes flaring red. I could feel the tension in the air build in my little kitchen and something was about to explode! He opened his mouth, practically baring his sharp teeth at me... but nothing came out.

He suddenly relaxed, along with the air in the kitchen and quietly said, "Fine. It's your house. I thought we were friends, but apparently that's not the case."

He disappeared, leaving me with a kitchen filled with cups of water and my own thoughts. _Friends?_ Yeah, sure. We're friends. If I was his friend, I'd hate to see how he treated enemies.

Shit, now I've got to pick up all these cups and bowls of water by myself! I swear, having BEN around is like having a bossy kid. I'm making sure he doesn't do anything stupid like this again. Claiming my house as his own, too. What nerve.

* * *

I didn't leave my house until I had to go to work again later that night. I threw on my vest and sweater at the door, making sure my keys were in my pocket before I headed outdoors. I was afraid I upset BEN a little too much earlier, but screw it. That asshole needs a good slap on his wrist every once in a while.

When I showed up and clocked in with my manager, I headed directly towards Marcie and she greeted me with a big cup of coffee. "Uh, hi? What's this?" I grabbed it and checked to see if it was scalding or lukewarm.

"Some idiot was hitting on me earlier at the coffee shop. Probably some new guy. He bought me French Vanilla, which I hate."

"I don't like French Vanilla, either." I sniffed at the cup disappointedly, setting it down.

"I know…" She sighed, "but I felt bad. I mean, he was trying to be really nice, but… _gawd_, was he a dork!"

I shook my head and threw the container in a nearby trash can. As I turned to Marcie again, I caught a figure standing outside our windows in the night. The streetlights didn't illuminate his face so I couldn't identify who it was, but the silhouette was unmistakable. I started panicking.

"Marcie. _Marcie!"_

"What? Christ, what?"

I pointed a trembling finger at him, watching as Marcie turned to look where I was pointing. She turned back to me, giving me a look of disbelief. "Uhm, dude? There's no one there. What are you so freaked out about?"

"Are you kidding me?! He's right there!" I almost grabbed her and shook her, but I forced my hands at my sides. Smokey was still standing as still as a statue, the cloud of smoke hovering around him like the legends told. He really _did_ have glowing eyes, and they were piercing me in the dark night. People walked on the sidewalk behind him, chatting, or listening to music like as if he didn't exist. What the fuck! I wasn't crazy. _He's there!_

Marcie just laughed at me and said I wasn't catching up on my sleep like I promised. Maybe I needed a nap.

That's it, I've had it. My nerves were a _wreck_ and I wasn't going to just let this bastard scare me into a pile of trembling shit. I'm going to tell him to leave me the fuck alone! I stomped over to the front door and stepped outside, facing Old Smokey.

"Hey, you bastard!" I shouted. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Marcie and my manager stepping towards me curiously.

"Leave me the fuck alone! I haven't done anything to you! Leave me alone!"

The old geezer slowly turned his body to me, pinning me down with a glowing glare as Marcie ran over to me and pulled at my arm. "Prince, what the Hell! Have you gone crazy? _Prince!_"

I broke into a sprint, charging at Smokey at full speed. I was planning to tackle him, but I realized I ran into thin air and looked back to see that he disappeared. Marcie was still standing at the door, looking at me with a mixture of confusion and horror.

She opened her mouth to say something, but instead let out a shrill shriek.

"_BEHIND YOU!" _She managed to say. Too late.

A force of a thousand bricks knocked me off my back, sending me flying for a few feet before my face landed on the concrete. I felt blood and pain rush through my nostrils, but I wiped it away and quickly got up. My manager pulled Marcie in, quickly locking me out of the store and they both peered out the window with saucer-round eyes as Old Smokey flew at me in rage, and knocked me to the ground again. I tried to block off his strong grip, but he wrapped both of his leathery hands around my neck and shook me. I gaped up at him, panicked. Oh shit, shit. Is this how I'm gonna die? I tried to pry his hands off, but he was too strong. I couldn't get him off of me and I felt my breath starting to slip out of my lungs.

After an eternity of struggling, he finally hissed, "_Never obey him. He is destroying you."_ and finally let go of my now-bruised neck, leaping up and taking off into the night. He disappeared behind a crowd across the street, leaving me bruised and battered in the middle of the sidewalk in a cloud of smoke. The bookstore entrance flew open, and Marcie was all over me, frantically asking a thousand questions at once. My manager helped me up to my feet and they both dragged me inside.

They called the police, which was useless, and tended to my broken nose and purple neck. I tried to tell them that it was fine, it didn't hurt much. That was a load of bull, but hey. The manager told me they had to have caught that on camera, that if the police didn't believe them, the footage would _make_ them. I doubted that Old Smokey would even show up on video footage.

Man, today is a pretty shitty day.


	9. Aftershock

_AN: Hey, guys! Thanks to readers for reading this, glad you are :} _

_Sorry for the late, late update. I usually crank these out more than once a week, but I went on vacation and had no chance of getting anywhere near a computer. So that means I'll be posting two chapters for now and updating again this week (hopefully) to catch up. Hope you enjoy the story so far!_

* * *

Marcie made me stay over at her apartment, which was closer to the store than my house was. I passed out on her couch and didn't wake up until the afternoon. When I did, I felt like shit again.

God, when am I going to go back to the way things were, when I woke up in the evenings and didn't feel like crap? I was still wearing my work clothes, my shoes laying next to me on Marcie's wooden floor. A thin blanket was thrown over my body and I tossed that off onto the floor. I sat up slowly, just in case.

Yep. Ouch!

I have a headache, as usual. I'm afraid that one day I'm going to wake up with a tumor in my brain thanks to all these goddamn headaches.

I waited until it subsided, and until my vision got better again before I stood up and stretched. Oof! Bad idea. My neck and back were still horribly sore from last night. I limped over to Marcie's bathroom to wash my face and inspect my bruises. I hope the pain won't last long.

Closing the door behind me, I immediately went to check myself in the mirror. Holy Hell, I looked like crap! BEN's nightmares were visibly taking a toll on me. The bags under my eyes were dark and I looked like I aged at least a decade over the past week and a half. My hair looked like a bird's nest in a hurricane, and I already had a five 'o clock shadow going on. Man, I look like a hobo. I need a haircut and a vacation.

I turned on the cold water and splashed it in my face. It felt good to have something that refreshing wake me up from a hazy stupor. I would love a shower in cool water as well, but I had to get going home. I didn't want to wear out my company by raising Marcie's water bills by a bit.

After glaring at my reflection for another minute or two, I dried myself off and slowly started taking my shirt and vest off. It hurt to do so, but I threw them on the ground and craned my neck.

Ugh. I could see finger marks wrapped around it where Smokey almost choked me to death. They were a nasty and dark bluish-purple right now. I'm going to have to wear turtlenecks for weeks! I turned around and almost yelled out to the world.

My back was engraved with black symbols that looked like Hieroglyphs and Sumerian combined! It was strange, a tattoo that told a story covering the entirety of my back. How in the _fuck_ did that get on there?! I twisted around, trying to get a good look at what was written on my back like a book, but I ended up looking like a dog chasing its tail. Finally, I analyzed the writing and figured I wouldn't be able to find out what the Hell was on my back and why, and stooped over to pick up my shirt.

The door suddenly opened and I jumped and whirled around before Marcie could peer inside.

"There you are! I... uh..." She looked at my bare torso with a raised brow. "Did you... was I interrupting you as you were going to shower... or...?"

"U-uh, no actually! Sorry. I was just... inspecting my bruises." I toyed with the shirt in my hand, wondering if this was a good time to put it on or not. I certainly didn't want to her to see the weird writing on my back.

Marcie leaned on the doorway, her giant baggy shirt slipping from her shoulder. My gaze fell down to her bare legs and it occurred to me that maybe she wasn't wearing anything but her panties. Fuck, why do I notice the dumbest things like that? Pervy mind...

She looked up at me with a concerning gaze, biting her lip. "Prince... what happened last night was-"

"Insane. Yeah. I know. I'm fine, though. Thanks for dragging me all the way over and taking care of me. Appreciate it." I immediately started to pull my shirt over my head, and soon felt warm, thin fingers on my chest. I didn't even get my arms in the holes before she started pulling it back over my head and throwing it to the ground.

"Let me see what they look like." She said, her voice low and quiet. I stared at her like she was crazy. "What? No... Marcie..." I should have known it was dumb to try to argue with a stubborn girl like her. She lifted my chin with a finger and analyzed my bruises thoroughly. A pained look crossed her face when she did.

"God, Prince..." She whispered, wincing.

I felt the pain rushing back and winced, too. I pushed her away. "I didn't want you to see it. I have to go home." I mumbled. She grabbed my shoulders and glared at me.

"You think I'm letting you go out there after what I just saw? No way, you're not going home unless I know you're safe."

"Marcie! Jesus Christ, I just want to be alone and in peace!"

"You've 'been alone and in peace' since your mom died!" She yelled back. "And look what's been happening! You're introverted, pale, sick, and now you're getting beat up by some evil demon-ghost man out there! You're a different person than you were in high school a-and I don't know what the Hell is happening, but I don't want to see you dead out in the streets because you think all you need right now is to... _'be alone and in peace.'_"

I looked her square in the eyes and sighed. "Even if you mean well, there's nothing you can do about any of this."

She almost exploded in righteous indignation, opening her mouth to yell at me more, like BEN did before, but then closed her mouth and pouted seeing that I had a point. She let go of me, turned, and left the bathroom. I stood there shirtless and feeling shitty.

When I put on my shirt and left the bathroom, I found Marcie in the kitchen, fetching a carton of eggs from the fridge. She turned to look at me standing at the doorway and nodded at the kitchen table for me to sit. I shook my head. She gave me The Look.

I swear, The Look is like a universal thing that all women know right from birth. Mothers, girlfriends, cousins, and best friends, no matter what race or age, know how to use The Look. I never saw a guy do it.

"Look, Marcie. I need to get home. I'm glad you want to take care of me and everything, but I don't need food. I need to get home. I'm just saying goodbye." I saw her nostrils flare and she waved a serrated knife at me threateningly.

"You sit your ass down on that chair, mister, or I'll hold you hostage until you beg for mercy!"

I raised my hands in defense. "Whoa, whoa. You don't have to-"

"_Now._"

The situation was straight out of a movie, and it strikes me as a funny sort of thing. Big, tough guy loses to a knife-waving tattooed midget. I sat down at Marcie's table in mock defeat and chuckled, watching her cook without another word.

Before long, she served me mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs, bacon and a bowl of strawberries accompanied by a glass of apple juice. I was impressed and asked her what all this was for. She shut me up and told me to dig in which I did, gladly.

"Why aren't you eating?" I asked her as I chewed on my bacon. She had pulled her hair in a bun and was leaning on the table across from me, on her phone. She didn't even glance up when she answered me. "That was the last of my food. I'll go grocery shopping later." I immediately felt bad and asked if she was hungry.

"Don't worry about it, I go hungry all the time."

I felt even worse. "Marcie... you look like you could snap in two like a twig anytime. You need to eat." She glanced over at me and laughed. "You don't need to worry about me."

"That means you don't need to worry about me." I threw down my fork.

Marcie glared at me and put down her phone. She sat in the chair next to me and picked up my fork, staring at me stone-faced. "I will force-feed you if you don't start eating right now."

"Why are you so insistent that I eat, _Marcelina_?" I could tell she wasn't joking anymore. This was serious shit right now.

"Remember all those times you saved me from getting beat up in school?"

"Yeah..." Well, this was sudden.

"You always helped me and stuck by my side even though we both were awkward kids and didn't know the first thing about life. That's when I knew I could count on you, if I ever needed anything or anyone, and I never had that before, so I was _thrilled _when you came along. You scared me before... well, you still do. Having you, the baddest and scariest kid in the whole city be my best friend was, like, the coolest thing in the world, especially for a shrimp like I was and still am. And you did stuff for me that I felt I couldn't repay..."

"Oh, I see what this is all about." I nodded. "But, seriously? The 'baddest and scariest kid in the whole city'? Said who?"

Marcie scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Only _you_ wouldn't know about your own reputation, idiot."

I had a reputation? I guess you really do learn something new everyday. I sighed and took back my fork from her, pretending to stab her in mock annoyance. Then I continued eating my "breakfast" as she smiled approvingly.

* * *

It was an hour after that before Marcie let me go from her apartment. It took a lot of convincing and yelling and threatening before she was defeated and stomped back to her room. I know we really weren't fighting, but I still felt guilty for denying her offer of safety and company. I know she wanted to keep me safe after years of wishing she could give me something back after all the favors I did for her, but I really needed to get home. Something was gnawing at the back of my brain, and I wanted to know why.

Still, it was nice that Marcie was so insistent of her usefulness. It felt nice to have a girl take care-

No. No, shut up, Prince. Don't you dare think about that right now. You need to head home and see to business.

I speed-walked all the way home, the gnawing feeling growing inside of me as I got closer to my house. Eventually, my door was visible from the sidewalk when I turned and reached my street and I broke into a run, digging into my pocket for my keys. I unlocked the door quickly and threw it open.

It was dark and quiet in my living room, the cups and bowls of water were scattered all over the room because I haven't even bothered to touch them. They were still in place, which meant everything was okay, right? I closed the door and took off my shoes slowly, listening for BEN or anyone in my house. I walked over and peered into my kitchen. I saw bare feet and legs stretched out on the floor and flicked on the light. It was BEN, laying face-up on the floor, his eyes closed. He looked more... _transparent _than usual.

"BEN?" I called nervously.

"I'm about to die." He said weakly.

His voice was a lot less harsh and much glitchier. I laughed and stood over his body. "Poltergeists can't die, can they? Come on, BEN. I don't believe you for a minute." It was a long time before he answered me.

"I'm serious," he rasped, "I'm going to fade away. Help... me..." I was alarmed now, looking around for anything that could save him. I remembered he told me that his "batteries" were water and wifi... what happened to my wifi...? No time to ponder that. I saw that he was being completely serious and would probably disappear any minute now, but did I really want to help a poltergeist that was torturing me and would eventually kill me?

Fuck it.

I grabbed the nearest cup from the stove and without thinking, threw it on the floor near BEN. I hurried around and collected each and every cup and bowl from around my house and emptied the lukewarm liquid on the floor, creating a lake in my kitchen. When I rushed into the bathroom to get the bowls from there, I looked at my bathtub and had an idea.

I carried the remaining containers of water to the kitchen to empty them on my floor and put them in cabinets. It's going to be a bitch to mop all of this up afterwards, but I hope it's worth it. BEN looked a little better, idly playing with the water on his side, watching me throw down more water on the floor. He was soaked, but happy. Then I made my way back to the bathroom and made sure the drain was stopped up good before I turned the water on at full blast to fill the tub to the brim. I went back to the kitchen and looked at BEN laying in the giant puddle in the middle of my kitchen.

"Care to explain why you're scaring the Hell out of me with your weakness crap?" I finally asked. He turned his head slightly, looking confused. "I don't know what you're talking about." He said frankly, tracing a picture into the water like a little kid. But he was a little kid, wasn't he? He was weak and scared and thought he knew everything when he didn't. He needed a human adult like me. I suddenly felt a weird fondness for this son of a bitch.

"BEN, you know what I'm talking about. I come home from getting beat up by Old Smokey and getting yelled at by Marcie to _this_ and I immediately have to take care of you like a baby! What the Hell is going on?!"

He sighed and closed his eyes slowly, rubbing his nose. "He came here and destroyed your room. Your computer and router, too."

I stared at him in disbelief, his words not registering in my mind. "My... computer? My... room? Who?" I mumbled.

He ignored my question and kept talking. "I tried to fend him off, and I was doing a great job until the asshole figured me out and annihilated the modem. From there, I was screwed. I'm sorry. If I had gone back into the computer, I would have been gone for a long time. So I crawled into the kitchen and hoped the bowls and cups of water would keep me alive. If you had thrown out the water earlier, I don't think I would be here right now, but they weren't enough, so I was laying here for hours until you came home. I don't think I wanted to see someone more in my life..." He mumbled the last sentence, clearly ashamed he would even say such a thing. But I got his memo.

I bent over to pick him up and he started to protest. "What the Hell are you doing?" He couldn't yell or kick much, and he wasn't heavy at all, thank God.

"I'm taking you to the bathtub. I'm not leaving you to lay in my kitchen for the rest of the day." I carried him wordlessly into the bathroom and lowered him in the half-filled tub. He looked at the water with wide eyes and splashed a little, like a child. I almost smiled at the sight but then I remembered I had to deal with my computer and trashed room.

I grimaced as I turned to leave and make my way down the hall to my bedroom. I slowly opened the door, as apprehensive as when BEN first crawled out of my computer. The door was finally wide open and I moaned as I saw the horrible state my room was in.

"Ooohh, shit. _Shit!_"


	10. Change of Plans

My room was in _complete and utter chaos_. I can't fucking believe it! Stood there gawking at my room, unblinking, like an idiot.

My bed sheets were torn to shreds, laying tattered all over my mattress and floor. Pillows were ripped to pieces as well, the fluff and crap inside accompanying my ruined sheets. My curtains weren't even hung up anymore, laying in a heap beneath the windowsill, letting the afternoon sunlight to spill on the ruins of my once-organized room. My desk was cracked and had scratch marks everywhere, my computer and monitor a pile of wires, plastic, and...

God, I can't look. I almost wanted to start bawling right there, but I held my composure and shuffled over to the bathroom with a long face. BEN looked up from his idle play with the water and I saw a look of pity cross his face. I pushed down the toilet cover and sat on it, burying my head in my hands. What the Hell am I gonna do now...?

"If it helps, we've still got the map and blueprints." I heard him say after a long, silent while. I lifted my face and glared at him. "Jesus Christ, BEN! You think I want to go scavenger hunting for you after all of _this_? You-you're the reason I'm even in this mess! I was living a normal, happy life before you came into my room and fucked up my life, and we haven't even known each other for long. Just-"

"I'm sorry."

...Uh? What? I stared at him, little old BEN who was weak and transparent, sitting in my tub yet managing to still look like royalty. Did he just apologize? To me?

"There, I said it. I warned you, though. I told you not to tell anyone about our plans so they wouldn't be hurt. So we would confine the danger to just _us_ and handle it ourselves. Two heads are better than one, but more than four can get in the way. Understand?"

I nodded, dumbly. Maybe it was him making me do it, I don't know.

"Now," he continued firmly, "we're going to get out of here. This isn't a safe place to stay anymore, and we're going to get ourselves killed by _him_ if we don't act quickly. We need to leave to a place over The Pipe I think we can stay in, but... well..."

"Well?" I was hearing him out. It made sense, but where is this place he's saying we could stay? The Pipe? There's no house near The Pipe... no empty ones we can occupy, of course. I think.

"It's... just that... Jeff is there. He came to visit when I summoned him, because we needed someone to fend off Smokey, since he isn't under a treaty I am. I'm not sure how he's gonna handle having me and you room with him." He grinned at me, like as if it was a joke.

"Jeff? The Killer? The real Jeff? In a house over The Pipe?" I couldn't believe it!

"Yes. Him. We'll have to beg and grovel for him to let us in, but I think we'll be okay since our... relationship is doing fine _for now_."

"But how will I get you and my stuff over there at the same time?"

"I need to go dormant in any electronic you can fit into your pocket and take. You don't have your phone with you. Smokey took it." He said as-a-matter-of-factly.

Oh. Crap. "And how do you know that?!" I retorted.

"He crushed it in his hand in front if my face." BEN shrugged and splashed a little more. I couldn't believe it. Why did the legend of the city hate me so much all of a sudden? It didn't make any damn sense! I was minding my own business, living my peaceful life until BEN came here and dragged me to the abandoned house. Sure, we stole Smokey's map, and kinda invaded his own home a little bit, but why does he have to go so haywire over all of it?

Wait a minute...

"BEN..?"

"Yes?"

"Do you and... Old Smokey kinda have a little... _rivalry _going on?"

He looked up at me, raising a brow. "Uhm, no. He hates me, but I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because I'm evil." He flashed me another toothy grin and folded his arms across his chest.

I nodded. "Right. Uh huh. That could be it. He told me something before he stopped choking me and ran off last night."

"And what is that?" He stared straight ahead, not looking at me, with a stony look masking any expression.

"Well, it was something like... 'Stay away from him, he'll hurt you' or 'destroy you' or something like that. I don't really remember. He was definitely talking about you, though. Why does he want me to stay away from you?"

He said quite frankly, "I'm going to kill you when you're done, Prince."

I flinched. "_Yesss_, I know, but why is it any of his business? _What reason does he have to destroy my room?!_" I shouted.

"Okay, alright. Relax and breath for a minute, pal. I'm not too sure what his motives are, but as long as we go to The Pipe, we'll be fine. He hates it there, contrary to what the 'teenagers' think they hear. There's something dangerous, which is true. Your little local legend is a _hero_, and he can't stand us CreepyPasta. Ah!" His eyes widened and I could basically see a lightbulb flicker on. "That's it! He hates evil, I'm evil, it adds up!"

"You said he was a demon." I rubbed my rough chin.

He scoffed. "Not all demons are evil or bad. In fact, I'd like to say none of them are. You humans are just idiots, blaming your faults on them because you're all so full of it. They just do what's natural to them. Old Smokey is a protector of this city, and I was unfortunate enough to run into him." He groaned and ran his fingers through his hair, taking off his hat.

We sat in silence for a little while, while I was racking my brain for a plan. "Alright, I've got a Gameboy Advanced locked up in a box on top of a cabinet in the kitchen that's collecting dust. I've had it since I was in middle school, you'll take that over since I know you love gaming devices." BEN smirked at me and I continued. "I'll see what I can salvage from my wrecked drawers and bring that in a bag, and we'll leave tonight. You bring the blueprints with you if you can... suck that into the Gameboy or do whatever you do. Just to keep it safe." BEN grimaced, shaking his head a little. "What?" I asked.

"I can't pick up anything solid right now. I most certainly can't 'suck it into the Gameboy'."

"You were _just_ holding the blueprints and bringing the map and holding your hologr-"

"That's when you had wifi." He cut me off sharply.

"You're in a tub of water, BEN." I sighed exasperatedly.

"It's not enough. I need more. Preferably a lake. I never told you water wasn't as powerful as electronics, did I? Well, I thought you'd've picked that up by now."

I facepalmed, rubbing my eyes. "Alright. Fine. I'll carry the damn map and blueprints, but if they get lost, we're screwed unless you've got this city and those parts memorized like an elephant."

"Who do you think I am, Prince? Of _course_ I have everything we need memorized, I drew it up, and I did my fair share of homework on your city. It's not rocket science to get around here, this place is pretty small. To me, at least."

I goggled at him, trying to wrap my brain around his reasoning.

"Can I ask _why_, then, do we need the papers?"

"_You_ need them, not me. I'm not going to be with you when you go out and fetch the parts anymore. I'm going to be doing some... ah... preparing. And replenishing."

"What the Hell is that supposed to mean?"

BEN gave me a look like he was talking to a four-year-old. Not quite The Look, but close. "We're clearly not going to go back to the house. That's enemy territory. I'm going to be working with Jeff to fix up a little area where you can do your work. We'll work together to get this done." He said it with firm determination, like _I mean business and you'd better believe it, bub_. I did, though a little hesitantly. I'm not too sure I'm thrilled to meet Mr. Jeff face-to-face, especially with the stories floating around about him. Nobody really wants to meet a serial killer, but if this'll get me to be done with BEN's forced project on me, and get Old Smokey off my back, I'll have to suck it up and deal. And BEN's plans are based off of _ifs_ and _maybes_. _Maybe _Jeff will let us into his temporary home. _If_ he does, _maybe_ he'll convince Jeff to help us with his machine.

I sighed and rubbed the bridge of my nose. "Alright, BEN. I hope you know what you're doing, and that all of this will work out right."

The imperial little ghost sat straight and lifted his nose in the air, disgusted that I would even doubt him. "Of _course_ this'll work. I will _make_ it work."


	11. Jeff, the New Ally

_AN: As promised, here's the next chapter :} Thanks goes out to the reviewers and readers!_

* * *

We made a long and tiring journey halfway across the city late at night. After that terrifying attack from Smokey, my manager made me take a break from my job, to recover… but the strange part was that my aches and pains were gone by now. I wondered about the ancient scrawls on my back, and if I should talk to BEN about it. It could be like a curse or something that the old man put on me. How the Hell he did it is beyond me.

I was dragging two bags and a backpack, carefully gripping onto the Gameboy Advanced in my pocket while walking down the overgrown path past the shabby neighborhood and toward The Pipe. The moon was full and high, making me nervous. What if Old Smokey decided to show up and mug me at night with no one around to see me and with BEN in his weak state? I'd be screwed! What's more, what if Jeff decides to shank me before I could even open my mouth? I was terrified, anxious, and my ADHD wasn't coping too well with the chilly night and spooky darkness right now. Thank God it's still summertime. For the first time in a long time, I was thankful that the nights are shorter and the days are longer. The sun seems to keep Old Smokey at bay.

A raccoon bolted at the sight of my nearing presence once I reached a line of trees with an aging wooden sign nailed to one of them, declaring The Pipe to be straight up a sloping hill. I stopped dead in my tracks and freaked out for a minute before I regained my composure and picked up my bags again. I continued on, turning my head at every little sound the night made. Finally, the massive concrete tunnel that was The Pipe loomed into view, looking much more formidable in the dark than it was in the daytime. I swung my backpack from my shoulder and unzipped it, rummaging inside for a flashlight. I swore to keep one of these on hand at all times, no matter where I went. The underground catacombs underneath Ana's house taught me a valuable lesson.

I shone it around inside the massive Pipe, listening to the wind howling through the hollow space before I strolled to the other side, searching for the fallen tree that would bring me to a carved path on top, that would in turn bring me to Jeff's concealed house. I was still kind of suspicious about the house that no one ever saw. What if this was all a trick to get me to leave my house and my stuff and become vulnerable to any attacks? This seems like the perfect place and time for BEN to just pop out and kill me. Or anyone else in cahoots with him.

I finally found it, a giant oak tree laying diagonally on The Pipe, leading straight to the top. With a gulp and a glance over my shoulder, I started towards it and kicked it with my foot to test the security of it. I climbed on and the walk upwards took little effort, to my surprise. I was afraid that I was going to fall and break my arm or something. I set foot on the smooth concrete and saw it: a wooden house that was only one story tall with stairs and a platform leading up to its roof. I played the light beam over the back and through the broken windows before I realized that was a really dumb thing to do and shut it off.

Skulking my way around, I found the front door which was also wooden and peered inside one of the windows despite it being boarded up. I could peek through a crack and see moonlight emanating from the back windows. The night was silent, dark, and waiting with bated breath.

Suddenly, a light came on and a lean figure rose from wherever he was positioned into my view. I ducked down and sucked in my breath sharply.

_Shit, shit, shit._

I bet it was Jeff, and hoped he didn't see me... otherwise, I'd be screwed to Hell. I slowly turned and looked through the crack again to see if I could catch anything else. A blue eye, wide and ringed with dark circles popped up, scaring the shit out of me. I fell back, panting and letting my Gameboy fly out of my pocket. The front door flew open and a tall man blocked the doorway, a silhouette against the yellow light coming from inside. I gaped at him in horror, scrambling to retrieve my Gameboy and get up quickly. The man didn't move. I stood there, covered in dirt and gripping onto my bags, not taking my eyes away from him for a second. I looked down at his hand and saw he had a switchblade shining in the artificial light coming from inside, threatening me all on its own.

Jeff the Killer. Wow. There he is, as real as the leaves on the trees and the clouds in the sky. We had a staring contest right there, but I was pretty sure that out of the two of us, I looked the dumbest. I finally cleared my throat and held out the Gameboy to him, watching carefully for his reaction.

"The fuck is that supposed to be?" His gravelly voice sliced the silence in two, quiet yet jarring at the same time. It rattled me to hear the voice of a notorious psychopath. It took me a while to rouse my composure and talk. "W-what do you mean? It's a Gameboy… with BEN in it, of course." I stuttered. The silhouette shifted his weight onto one leg to lean on the doorway and chuckled dryly.

"BEN. Of course. That dumbass bastard, thinking he can get away with a huge fucking mess like this. I bet he wants you all to move in here and build that stupid machine he's been wetting his pants over, huh? All because of that… monster dancing his way to screw us over." He leaned forward, his face becoming a little more visible in the natural nighttime light. I shuddered. No art or photoshopped picture on the Internet would prepare me for _his_ scarred countenance! I lowered the gaming device and glanced down at my bags awkwardly to avoid staring. What should I have said then? He moved from the doorway after analyzing me thoroughly and left the door open. I guess that's an invitation?

Breathing a sigh of relief, I pocketed the Gameboy and picked up my bags. I was extremely anxious to be in the presence of Jeff, but what could I do? If this is the only way to avoid a malevolent threat like Smokey, I would just have to put up with this for as long as it takes and hope for the best. I stepped inside and set my load down on the creaky floor.

The inside was of moderate size, not too big, but pretty much cozy. A lightbulb swung from a cord on the ceiling, illuminating dusty old furniture and a ragged-looking rug in the middle of the room. I noticed some blankets on a giant armchair pushed back to a corner of the room, with a desk covered in burnt cigarettes, bottles of booze, an ashtray, and a giant butcher knife with its blade embedded into the wood, standing upright. The place smelled of cigarette smoke and old, musty cloth. There was a doorway leading to the kitchen and a wooden door with a silver doorknob to my right. I assumed that was another room.

The front door suddenly slammed behind me and I whirled around to come face-to-face with Jeff. With a ferocious push, he pinned me to the wall next to the door, brandishing his switchblade and holding it next to my jugular vein. I grabbed his shoulders and tried to shove him off of me. No dice. He was stronger than he looked. A _lot_ stronger. He leaned over so that he muttered menacingly in my ear and made his point crystal clear.

"Listen here, punk. You're gonna be staying in the other room for as long as this takes, but you're gonna know a little rule that'll help you stay alive as long as you're near me, got it?" I nodded feverishly. He looked me in the eye and grinned wickedly. "Good. This is the only rule you're ever gonna follow, so listen closely. You will stay out of my way."

"Mhm."

"That means you leave me alone when I don't talk to you. Don't stare at me, don't touch my things, don't tell me anything unless it's important."

"Yep. Got it. No problem." I felt a sheen of sweat on my forehead.

He let me go after an eternity and flicked the blade out of sight, turning and walking away to grab a cigarette on his desk and light it. I rubbed my throat and instinctively felt around for my Gameboy. It… wasn't in there. Where-?

Jeff turned, a lit cigarette between his fingers in one hand and the Gameboy in the other. Wow. He was good. He glowered at me and then flipped the device open, shaking it roughly. The screen glowed the familiar shade of green I've come to know. As it did, Jeff sat back on the giant armchair and puffed on his cigarette, making me a little jealous that he actually had one. I hadn't had a cigarette since the whole Ana-tunnel fiasco and man, was I craving one right now!

"So, BEN told me about all this bullshit goin' on around here and told me he'd pay me if I came over here and protected your sorry asses." He spat. "That'd better be true, considering I don't ever do anything like this at all. I stab first, talk later, not the opposite. He also told me about you, though you've done a great fucking job not revealing much to him. We both don't know who you really are, so excuse me if I don't trust you at all." I shifted my weight to another leg and fiddled with my sleeve, still trying hard not to break one of Jeff's rules and stare. I shudder to think what he might to do me if I ever aggravated him.

"You don't talk much, do you?" He piped up, still staring at the screen with a bored expression. I shrugged.

"Not much to say, to be honest. I guess I'll go unpack now… yeah." I picked up my bags, hoisting them over my shoulder and making my way in front of his chair to a doorway that led into an even smaller room. It was bare, and dark as far as I could see. The light from the living space Jeff claimed was enough for me to see that this room had boarded up windows as well and it was bare, though carpeted. I stepped inside and glanced around, catching sight of big mattress propped up against the wall in the corner. This was pretty much the only furniture in the whole room, and I guess it was where I was going to be sleeping. I threw my bags down next to the doorway and proceeded to drag the mattress across the room to the back. I hoped this thing wasn't dirty or covered in something. That'd be horrible.

Once I was done, I went back out to Jeff's "room" and found that he was already making his way up some stairs, probably to the roof. I followed him quietly into the cool breeze and watched his back as he stood at the edge, staring at the green glowing screen of my Gameboy, smoking like a chimney. The moon was positioned perfectly so that the moonlight cascaded on his shoulders and hair which gave me perfect sight to see what he was doing. We stood there for a long time, me still perched on the topmost step peering out into the night and him just pretending to be a statue, save for the occasional arm reaching up to take the cigarette and blow out a stream of smoke.

He finally snapped the thing shut, glancing over his shoulder at me.

"Got nothing better to do?" He said out loud, not facing me.

"I'm just making sure everything's fine and dandy. Wouldn't want to head to bed knowing a serial killer might want to slit my throat in my sleep." I replied. He laughed spine-chillingly and tucked the Gameboy in his back pocket.

"You're a smart ass aren't, you? I can tell we're gonna get along just fine. Just head to bed, pal. Me and BEN had a little _discussion, _and you're gonna need your beauty sleep for tomorrow. Trust me."

"For what? You're saying that like as if I'm going to slay a dragon tomorrow or something."

He mumbled something that I couldn't catch because a gust of wind howled through the trees at that moment. After that, silence resumed and I could hear crickets down below chirping a nighttime chorus like they've done for centuries. I didn't bother to ask what he said. I just made my way back downstairs into the stuffy rooms and closed the door to my bedroom, shrouding myself in complete darkness. The moon's silver rays slightly shone through the cracks in the wooden planks nailed to the window, and I looked out again. I saw the outline of undulating trees in the wind and the stars in the sky, twinkling brightly around these forested parts.

Jeff came thumping loudly downstairs after slamming the door and I heard him fall back on his couch again. The light was flicked off again, and he settled comfortably until the house was filled with silence once again for the night. I stood in the middle of my room, not moving at all. It was hard, but I concentrated on my heart beat to pass the time. I wasn't going to go to sleep anytime soon. I didn't have anything to occupy myself with until I eventually did fall asleep, as Old Smokey basically took away from me everything I could entertain myself with, but that didn't stop me from trying to stay awake the whole night.

It was partially because a murderer was in the next room, and partially because this whole week was just a nightmare for me. I couldn't rest. I had to think.

If I thought BEN was torturing me before, I can't _wait_ to see what's in store for me later on.


	12. Note

_AN: Hey guys, sorry for the late update! This one is pretty short, too... I think I'm hitting a writer's block kind of thing. I've been pretty busy with things lately, so I might not post for a long while after this. I apologize for the lack of action here in this chapter, I just haven't been feeling motivated. As soon as I do get motivation, though, I'll start posting immediately! Until then, arrivederci :} _

* * *

I don't know when I fell asleep, but I eventually did, because I was woken up by the slamming of a door just as the pink rays of the dawn were seeping through the cracks of the boarded-up window.

_What time is it?_ I groggily thought to myself, instinctively looking to my left where my alarm clock back home usually perches next to my bed. It wasn't there. Instead, I was sprawled on the dirty spring mattress I dragged over to the end of the room, opposite from the door and my bags, still wearing my clothes and shoes. The room was bare, dark, and silent.

And then I heard heavy footsteps, thumping all around the house like as if someone was wearing oversized Timberlands. Must be Jeff. It couldn't be anyone else, could it? He swore loudly and rattled the house again with another slamming of the door, and a strange relief washed over me again. Good ol' Jeff…

I struggled to get up, my pains of not too long ago's attack stabbing me again and shoving me back onto the bed. I caught my breath for a little while, listening to Jeff's obnoxiously loud morning routine and trying not to think about the throbbing pain all over my torso. It took a while, but I finally managed to heave myself up from my "bed" on the floor and stumble around like a pathetic drunk. I needed a shower and some toothpaste, because I was feeling like absolute crap right now, and half of it was just the pain.

Limping out into the tiny livingroom, I turned to the left and made a beeline for the kitchen, meaning to ask Jeff where the bathroom is. I found him sitting at a rickety old wooden table, sharpening his kitchen knives and leering at a gruesomely-mauled little animal with its bloody insides spread out across mottled fur. I just stared with furrowed brows, not reacting for a while before I just resorted to looking at Jeff and asking my question as nonchalant as possible.

He continued sharpening his knife with harsh, metallic slashing sounds as he bore right into my soul with those eyes again. Needless to say, I was kinda sweating bullets.

"Mornin'." He grumbled.

"Where's the bathroom?" I said, glancing away.

"Bathroom? Maybe 3 miles down from here."

I stared at him with my mouth slightly open. "3 miles from here? This house doesn't have a bathroom?"

He snorted and stabbed the animal with terrifying force, cracking the wood and causing a big split that led all the way to the middle of the table. I was so surprised that I jumped and cowered for a bit before chuckling nervously. "Okay! No bathroom here, gotcha!"

He laughed evilly, getting up and handing me a folded old parchment before turning back and seating himself again. I slowly unfolded it and read it, noticing there was fresh red blood splattered at the end, almost obscuring some of the sharp, faded handwriting that was scrawled all over the paper.

_You've pissed me off._

_I was trying to save you, but you always let your evil demon friend get in the way. _

_My city will not be contaminated with vermin like you. _

_I tried to warn you. You didn't listen._

_Be on the lookout. _

I shuddered. Old Smokey. Man, this guy! At least now I know why he's chasing after us.

"Nice of him to give us a warning." I mumbled, ripping the parchment into tiny little pieces. "I suppose that animal came with this, too?"

Jeff was slicing the thing up into an even more bloody and mutilated mess. He briefly looked up at me and grinned.

"Yeah, it was a… _present._"

I sighed and rubbed my nose, tossing the pieces of paper onto the table. "Where's BEN?" I finally asked.

He didn't look up from his filleting as he talked, as usual. "Took off. Just jumped out from the game… he looked like he was in a hurry, though. Don't ask me about it…"

I fidgeted a bit, wondering if maybe he disappeared for good and left me to die with this psycho. But if BEN really wanted this machine built for him, he wouldn't just abandon me here, right? I glanced over my shoulder to the front door and mulled over my options now. Should I just go back to my room and wait for nothing? Should I make a break for it, running back to my house and leaving my stuff? Would Jeff even chase after me? He looked pretty nonchalant and not worried at all about this situation, so I don't know if he cared about me being here or not. I don't know how much BEN gave him to keep me locked up here…

Jeff put his knives down again and scooped up the giant mushy-looking mess of the animal with both of his hands, dumping it on the kitchen stove and reaching up to retrieve a box of matches. With bloody hands, he struck a match and lit the gas stove up so that the flames danced with a blue hue, then yellow, then red. He then threw the animal guts onto the fire and let that burn for a while. I almost gagged out loud.

"Look, just tell me where I can take a shower and I'll get out of your hair…" I piped up. He washed his hands in silence, not answering me for a long time. Finally, he shut the sink water off and pointed toward the front door. "Unlatch it. We're going out, you whiny bitch."

* * *

We trekked through the same overgrown path in broad daylight, the birds chirping and the sun shining like as if everything was alright with the world. I had a towel and one of my bags slung over my shoulder, following Jeff who was probably only a little shorter than me, but very much thinner than me. The tree branches overhead loomed and provided minimum shade for us as we hiked down a hill and jumped over an old, worn-out fence of someone's backyard. "Jeff?" I called, "We're taking a shortcut, right?"

He stopped dead in his tracks and turned around, giving me the ugliest look anyone could ever give. I death-stared him back.

"A _shortcut? _We're already here, you idiot."

I looked up behind him at a poorly-kept house with weeds clawing at the paint and some broken windows. There was a bird's nest on the top of the gutter and the back steps were cracked and worn out. It looked like a shitty place to live. "Nobody lives here, right?"

"Of course nobody lives here. I got rid of 'em." He said casually. A sinking feeling swelled up in my stomach, but I followed him up the steps anyways. He shoved the door open and stepped inside the cool and dark house with me trailing close behind him. Before I stepped into the house, though, I took a glance back just for a second- and caught sight of a dark blur quickly making its way around the fence. It disappeared just as I did a double take, and left me wondering if I really saw it. I stood on the steps for a while, trying to listen or see if I could catch that thing again. Who was it? What was it? I hoped to God it wasn't Old Smokey.

"Comin'?" Jeff shouted from deep within the house. "Yeah," I replied shakily. I walked in and made sure to lock the door behind me before I walked into the hall, into a small kitchen, and out into the living room. For a run-down little house, the place wasn't so bad. I couldn't shake off the feeling of guilt for basically trespassing, but it felt nice to be in a cozy, carpeted house instead of a creaky old wooden one with boarded up windows and a lumpy old mattress. I felt like I was a fugitive in there...

Jeff waved me over and pointed to a door down the hall which I assumed was the bathroom and I made a beeline for it. I was creeped out enough by a menacing demon, who looked like an old man, stalking me wherever I went. I locked the bathroom door firmly and sat down on the toilet seat, burying my head in my arms.


	13. Change

A few weeks have passed since I last saw Old Smokey at the empty house in the shoddy neighborhood. I don't know exactly how many weeks, because I don't have a clock with me anymore. I don't have anything with me anymore, except for my clothes and shoes.

I don't have any friends, I don't have any family, nothing I used to own is in my possession anymore.

I lost everything.

I'm still working on BEN's machine and living in the wooden house on top of The Pipe, hunting for the pieces around the city as he instructs me, but instead of going alone, I have Jeff. He is not my friend. It's only because of BEN that he hasn't killed me yet, and hanging around him and seeing what he does changed me.

I killed a person.

He was a teenager, completely oblivious to my situation and state of mind, but he was a threat nonetheless. He was with a gang, and me and Jeff were strolling around looking for a manhole in a parking lot that led underground to another part of the cavernous maze under Ana's home. It was a shortcut, and I didn't want to bother Ana at 3 in the morning. Just as we were trying to pry the cover out of the ground, a rowdy group of kids, probably drunk, rounded a corner and headed straight in our direction. We tried to ignore them but the cover was too heavy for us to lift quickly and they advanced, eventually surrounding us and laughing.

I still remember their hazy-eyed glares and stretched smiles as they pointed at us and slurred questions as to why in the Hell we were there, pulling up a manhole cover. Jeff barked at them to leave us. They started an argument, and then a fight.

I don't really remember what the Hell went on because I was half scared to death and jumpy. Everything was a blur, happening so quickly before my eyes. Next thing I knew, I snatched a pocket knife from one of the teens and in a panic, I swung.

I hit his jugular. As he struggled away, my arm wrapped around his neck and I twisted the knife. _What was I doing_? It wasn't me. I wasn't doing anything… it was an accident.

_No it wasn't._

I did it on purpose. I knew what I was doing. I wrapped my arm to hold him down and twisted the knife so I could kill him.

Everyone was screaming. Except Jeff. He was smiling.

_He always smiles._

Ever since then, I wasn't the same. At least I got the damn part, which was indeed the heart of the machine that would get it going, a squid-like thing whose tubes would hook up and connect everything.

When I asked Jeff what happened after that fiasco, he didn't tell me anything. He shrugged and told me we didn't get caught. We jumped into the manhole and no police were after us. I didn't believe him. But I can't fill in the gaps anymore. My memory is blurry, and I don't have the mindset to even attempt to remember. Why should I? I don't want to remember bad things anymore.

My condition has gotten even worse as time goes by. I talk to myself when I'm alone, never trusting anyone and jumping at every little noise. I am disheveled, with a beard and uncombed hair rapidly growing. I don't look like a regular human being with an intact mind anymore. I probably never was in the first place.

The writing is still on my back, not changing or hurting. I didn't tell Jeff or BEN about it since I didn't want to bring up any concerns, and since it didn't look like a threat to anyone at all. Probably a warning, or a curse, but I still didn't want to think about it.

I just work and work, running all over the city, trying to avoid people, and studying the blueprints BEN left behind. My room is now my makeshift workshop where I stole some furniture from the streets and hauled into the house. I have a chipped desk, big enough for tons of work paper and the blueprints to be laid out comfortably on. I took some boxes to put my clothes in. I have sheets and a pillow and a desk lamp now, thanks to a donation center. I have tons of pens and paper for writing notes and drawing. It still doesn't even feel like my home. But I scribble like mad in the dead of the night, writing about anything I want. I notice that my writings are getting more and more disturbing.

One particular sheet of paper scared me, where I saw my own handwriting on the paper and I don't remember writing any of it.

_I can't take this anymore I need sleep I need to eat I need to go away away from here I am going mad I miss everyone I am going CRAZY CRAZY THIS IS CRAZY I CAN'T DO THIS WHY ME WHY WHY WHY_

_Because you deserve it. Everything. You chose this. It's your fault. _

_I __**can't TAKE**__** IT I NEED TO GET OUT MY MIND IS BROKEN IT'S HIM HE'S COMING FOR ME I WANT TO DIE DIE DIE DIE I WANT TO GO I WANT TO DIE LEAVE ME ALONE NO!**_

_Yes, of course you want to die. Good. Die. You will die soon. I will make sure of it. I will end your suffering. _

I shudder every time I look at it. It's all my handwriting, yet two people are speaking. I am going insane.

Now, I am sitting on my floor, with the parts that I fetched so far strewn about on my floor next to me and I'm staring into space. I can't live like this, yet here I am. One day, Jeff asked me why the Hell I couldn't run away and I didn't know how to answer him. Then he told me it was BEN, controlling my mind and my life so that I would agree to everything he told me to do. I didn't believe him at first, but now it's starting to make sense. I couldn't say no to BEN. This was _terrible._

_Absolutely terrible. _

I eventually got up and walked out to the kitchen to grab a bag of chips. I don't know how Jeff keeps bringing back food, but he does.

I found him sitting at his usual spot at the table, smoking a cigarette. He offered me one and I took it, forgetting about the chips for the time being.

"How's it goin', man?" He chuckled dryly at me and I lit the cigarette with my silver lighter I always keep in my pocket. If there are two things I never leave the house without, it's my lighter and my brass knuckles which I stole from someone who Jeff killed. They're my lucky charms.

"How's it going? It's going bad, very bad." I said in between puffs.

He nodded, shrugging sympathetically. "Makes sense. You're going crazy. Slowly, but surely. You'll probably end up like me." He grinned at me and I had to look away.

"I hope not. How do you know I'm going insane anyways? We never talk."

"But I always listen."

"Listen?"

"To you talking. At first, I couldn't hear what you were saying. I figured you're just lonely and thinking out loud… then, it was like you were having a conversation out loud by yourself, and I can hear every word of it. Want me to tell you what I heard last night?"

I shuddered, not answering. So it's true. I have something else inside of me, like as if I had MPD. Hell, I probably do considering the traumatic things I've had to experience.

Jeff continued anyways. "It was like as if you were begging and the other was denying. '_I need to escape from here, I miss everyone._'

And then the other voice said, '_You're an idiot. You'll get killed. Just do what you have to do and I'll take care of the rest._'

Then, '_What if I want to die now?' _

_'You'd want to die a slow and painful death? How stupid can you be?' _

_'I don't care, just as long as I get away from here.' _

_'Patience. I'll deliver you from this eventually. It isn't even that bad…' _

Something like that. Then you just went on begging and you eventually started yelling at yourself and I had to go in and shut you up."

I groaned, hitting my head lightly on the door frame. "This _can't _be happening…"

"Looks like some demons are getting inside of you." He said, exhaling some smoke.

"Bullshit. Well, maybe not entirely, but…" I trailed off, remembering that anything was possible nowadays. "Nevermind."

"Happened to me, maybe it's your turn now." Jeff shrugged.

"What?" I gave him a quizzical glance. He lifted his gaze from the floor to me and looked me dead in the eyes.

"You think I'm like this 'cause I _wanted to be_?" He was incredulous, a hurt look passing over his face. "Insanity isn't a choice, pal. It's forced on you. It was forced on me in a completely different way and it ruined my life. _I _didn't kill my family, _I _didn't mutilate my face, _I _didn't go on killing sprees around the country. It was _insanity._ And he's got you, too."

"Jeff, you're not even making any sen-"

"Doesn't make sense to you now, but it will pretty fucking soon." He interrupted me grumpily, slumping back in his chair and dragging on his cigarette. "Don't worry about me, anyways. Just…_ leave me alone_." He said those last three words so forcefully with a different voice and I noticed his left hand twitching on the table. That… didn't really sound like Jeff. The lights overhead flickered and he started to growl, shouting at me to leave the damn place or else he'd rip me apart. Shit, it's happening again.

I fled to the roof where there was the companionship of the stars and the safety of a nearby exit just in case.

I sat on the edge of the building, my feet dangling several feet above the ground and I smoked my cigarette while listening to Jeff smash things around and generally struggle. He told me about this before, but I didn't really remember. All I know was that he usually left the house before he started to… _turn_, as I called it. He yelled every curse under the sun loudly and broke things until there was quiet again and then another voice, clear and distinct and much smoother than Jeff's gravelly one. They were talking, like normal people.

That reminded me of my own "voice in my head" and I wondered if I really had a demon inside of me like Jeff did. Funny, it all sounds so unbelievably fucking ridiculous, but since CreepyPasta exist here, I guess anything is valid despite how far-fetched it seemed.

_Of course._

I guess the only concern now is to get the job done so I can meet my death and end my suffering. I don't normally feel suicidal, but it's a fate I have to deal with now. Apparently, I really miss everyone and want to die, according to the paper and Jeff's testimony.

I really do miss everyone, though. I wish my life was back to normal.

I miss Marcie and her weird tattoos. I think she's frantically worrying about me if she's not tired of looking for me by now. I bet my manager already fired me a long, long time ago. I miss Ana and her makeup and fake boobs. She was a great mother-figure even if she was a prostitute. God, my life was weird. Realizing the people in my life and the things I did when I was growing up, I don't think anyone can say they did what I did. At least I lived an interesting life...

I took my last inhale before I tossed the cigarette over and watched it flip several times, spewing ashes in the air before hitting the ground and glowing faintly there. I craned my neck to look up at the stars and listen if Jeff is done with his _turning. _I hear nothing but the winds in the trees and the September crickets' chorus. All is still.

_CRASH!_

Wood shattered deafeningly below me and I heard Jeff shouting angrily. I instinctively reached for the knife I tucked away in my boot earlier, rushing down the stairs and into the living room. I saw Jeff's shoe disappear into the kitchen and I promptly followed, shocked by what I saw. It was Old Smokey, as solid and easy to see as a rock in the middle of white sand. He was practically on top of Jeff, trying to pin him down and strangle him. No time to stare.

I acted quickly, plunging my knife into his back. The demon shrieked in pain, temporarily letting go of Jeff and giving him some space to roll away. I pulled my knife out and we tag-teamed, using both of our strength to shove Smokey down and hold him there. It only worked temporarily. The damned man teleported, leaving a cloud of smoke for us to choke on and be blinded by. He came in and attacked from behind again, but Jeff was ready. As I got knocked down, he grabbed Smokey by his bushy beard and stabbed his neck, hacking and slicing furiously as I scrambled away with my own knife gripped in my hand. I watched in horror as Jeff was clearly in his element, kicking down the old geezer and brutally gutting him and stabbing him anywhere he could. Old Smokey tried to block his blows, thrashing and flailing on the floor. His wounds leaked black blood that omitted smoky vapors. He was getting closer to the exit…

I jumped up and practically flew over both of them so that I was positioned at the kitchen doorway, gripping Smokey by the shoulders to hold him down.

_Good. Now keep him there. _

"Finally gone insane enough?" Jeff cackled at me gleefully, black stuff all over his clothes. "Toss me your knife!"

I did, and he caught it while I slid my arm over Smokey's neck and held him firmly in place. "This is for ruining my life, you fucking bastard." I hissed into his ear, trying to ignore the overpowering scent of smoke, like as if I were leaning over a bonfire.

I saw BEN's green ghostly figure hovering in the corner of the room, glaring down at us and at our enemy with disdain. Before Jeff could continue hacking and slicing away at Smokey, BEN held a hand up, emitting a green glow and he stopped. Smokey was still, not moving at all and I wondered if I was keeping a corpse in a choke-hold. I slowly let go, getting up to block the doorway in case anything else happened.

Old Smokey sat up, and Jeff backed away. Everyone was silent until BEN opened his mouth and spoke.

"So, you actually had the gall to come into a restricted area and directly attack my friends?"

A hoarse laugh, similar to coal and gravel being crushed together, arose from the city legend and he laughed and laughed, his shoulders shaking. Jeff started forward only to be held back by BEN once more. "Let him laugh. He won't be laughing for long."

"I said I didn't tolerate vermin. My job is to get rid of them and that's what I was just doing." Smokey finally said, and I stared down at him with awe. It was amazing that only just last month, he was a fleeting thought in my mind. Here he is, talking and as real as the fingers on my hands.

"We aren't _vermin_, watcher." BEN said firmly, "We're doing our job, not hurting anyone."

"You killed many people._ ALL OF YOU_." Smokey roared. "And your master plan is to build a device that lets you invoke your wrath and misery upon the humans of this world!"

Me and Jeff watched this exchange like a tennis game, and since Smokey's back was facing me I was only studying BEN's face for any expressions. For a weak little ghost who's afraid of a demon like Smokey, he's doing a great fucking job of not showing it. In fact, he floated straight and tall despite his form flickering and wavering, keeping his head up and his face stony.

"What do you care about the humans on Earth? Your perimeters are only this city, which we won't be in for long."

"And_ your_ perimeters are in Hell." The demon retorted harshly, moving to get up. I slammed my foot down on his back, forcing him to slump forward. He turned to give me a soul-piercing glare and I had a good look at his face. His skin was dark and ashen, his black beard and thick eyebrows giving me the impression of those stereotypical bad guy pirates in kids' shows. He looked like a regular old guy with wrinkles, if it weren't for his near-black skin. And I don't mean African-American skin. I mean his skin was an unnatural color, almost as dark as coal.

"What are you still doing here, kid?" He spat. "I thought I told you to keep away from those who destroy you."

"Watcher." BEN interrupted him, attempting to call his attention back. "_Don't._"

But Old Smokey didn't turn back around to meet BEN's glare. He was still looking at me and I stared right into his glowing eyes, practically hypnotized. "You're so weak." He chuckled. "I'm not bothering with you."

He grabbed my foot, flipping me over and throwing me onto the floor, startling both Jeff and BEN. In the midst of the panic, he leapt right over me and burst into a giant cloud of smoke, bigger and darker than the one he made earlier. I scrambled to my feet and backed away from the smoke, hearing Jeff rushing over to open a window behind me. BEN turned to look at me questioningly and I returned the gaze.

"What?" I asked, bewildered. He narrowed his eyes at me and disappeared as well, leaving in a flurry of familiar green pixels like he did so many times before. He could never stay out in the open for long, he always had to do something briefly and then disappear as quickly as he came.

I looked down and felt Jeff's shoulder as he brushed past me, cursing under his breath. He was taking off his sweatshirt, and tossing me back my knife. I caught it by the blade, touching the black, smoky blood and smearing it on my hands. I studied it, intrigued.

Old Smokey was like a living, breathing cloud of smoke.

_Indeed. Perhaps he's of interest. I'm most certainly interested in him. _

I threw the knife down frustratedly onto the table and walked over to the living room to talk with Jeff. If BEN wasn't going to give me answers, I hope Jeff most certainly would.


	14. The Reveal

_AN: Hey, guys! Well, my hiatus didn't last long, did it? I guess I was misinterpreting my laziness for a writer's block. Whoops! This one's a short one, leading into some... pretty dramatic stuff that's going to happen soon (hopefully)! Hope you enjoy :}_

* * *

Jeff was pulling off his sweatshirt and rummaging around for another one somewhere behind his couch. He didn't turn around even though he heard me stomping in.

I launched into a speech anyways. "I'm _confused_ here, and no one is giving me any answers. Almost a month ago, BEN told me he couldn't tussle with Smokey because of some 'treaty'. Why? What's the 'treaty', and why the Hell are you here, protecting us? That demon out there just-"

"BEN's with Zalgo." He cut me off, pulling a black hoodie over his head.

"What? Zalgo? Oh…" I shuddered, my knees practically shaking. _Zalgo? _Christ, he was like the Charles Manson of the CreepyPasta group. If he exists…

_Don't be daft. We'll stay away._

I didn't want to think about it.

"_Why _is BEN working for Zalgo?" I asked exasperatedly.

The killer turned around to give me a look while rhythmically tossing his switchblade and catching it as if he was throwing a baseball up and down. "Long story short, he got into some shit with Slendy by fucking up _bad._ Had something to do with the electromagnetic charge of the charge of some damn realm. I dunno. Slendy almost killed him but then he fled to Zalgo, 'cause you know, BEN can't live on his own right now. But he hates Zalgo, so _that's _why he wants to build this stupid machine. It'll be a miracle if it works…" He grumbled.

It all made sense now… I nodded at him slowly, putting the pieces of the puzzle together. Jeff's blunt honesty can be a really great thing sometimes.

"Why didn't BEN want me to know that?"

"He didn't? Well, fuck. I guess you're gonna have to keep that a secret from him." He shrugged, grinned and strolled outside into the dark and cold night all nonchalantly. I promptly trailed him, shutting the door behind me.

"Where are you going?" I asked darkly. I didn't want him to just stroll on outside after what we just went through like as if it was nothing!

_Why do you worry about him?_

He kept going, tossing some words over his shoulder. "Meeting my brother. He can't just _rise up out of the ground _like nothing! He needs a push!"

"Brother? Your brother? Liu?!" I cannot believe this! All of it was real, it was just…bizarre.

"Yeah. Stay inside. Old Smoke's bound to be crawling around like a rat sniffing for you." He stopped just as he was going to descend the giant tree-bridge and I almost bumped into him.

"Ahm, no." I held a finger up, "You're not going anywhere without me. If we're going to bump into Smokey again, it'd be better for us to stick together and outnumber him. You saw what he did in our kitchen, and I bet if I wasn't in the house he would've _killed_ you. Even BEN had to step in!"

Jeff scoffed, jumping onto the tree and jogging down. "Fine, follow me if you want, I don't care. Just keep quiet and stay out of my way."

"What are you going to do anyways? What do you mean your brother can't just 'rise up out of the ground'?" I shuddered, a disturbing image of a zombie Liu popping up out a grave like in those cheesy horror movies and cartoons.

He ignored me, heading towards the small trail around The Pipe.

_So arrogant!_

I did the same, not hesitating to follow him to wherever he was going. If he was indeed going to "meet his brother" not only would I not be alone to face the demonic legend, but I would actually get to see Liu and find out what _really _happened to him!

It was a cold and windy night, the moon and stars completely invisible behind giant clouds. It was almost too dark to see, but Jeff's footsteps and my good eyesight guided me out of the small wilderness and past the familiar fence I always climb over to get to the empty house and take a shower. We kept walking past the shoddy neighborhood wordlessly, yet wary for any other living creature within our field of view. After what happened in the parking lot that night (or morning if you count 3AM as morning, whatever), we always tried to stay away from other people. Except for Jeff, who sometimes goes out to kill and blow off steam. I don't protest when he does, I'd rather not be the victim at the other end of the knife!

I listened the gravel and rocks crunching underneath our sneakers and the leaves of the soon-to-be-dead trees swaying in the wind. Thank god I wear my thick hoodie regularly now. We turned into a street with eerie streetlights illuminating the length of it and continued on down into unfamiliar territory. Maybe we're heading towards the old grave near the rich neighborhoods? I daren't ask Jeff right now, I don't know why. I guess talking will just ruin something. The mood, maybe? I can't explain why I don't want to sidle up and chat with Jeff…

_Because something is going to happen soon..._


End file.
